Dark Side of the Moon
by realtalkproject
Summary: "Scott – Please…. " I cried. His yellow eyes gleamed with hunger, the thirst to kill. A deep growl released from his throat. I cried out in furious desperation. The wolf was glaring down above me. I felt the pain and then blackness surrounded me.  SEQUEL UP
1. Something That Doesn't Belong

_'School is starting tomorrow'_ I thought excitedly as I set my history book on my bed. I had been ready for weeks but apparently teachers like to have vacation time which means they can't start school early just because some kids (probably only me) want to go back. All my AP homework for the summer was neatly put away in my brand new binder and my outfit had already been chosen. All I had to do was wait eight more hours….

Throwing myself down on my bed I let a sigh escape my lips. It was been another uneventful summer in Mayfield, California. Not that anything interesting ever happens here. I'd spent most of it hanging with friends and getting ready for school.

I heard a faint _tap_ on my window and I shot up, clutching my heart which was frantically beating double time. Another _tap_ sounded and I walked slowly to my window. Casually I peered outside and saw the familiar blue jeep in my driveway. I quickly opened up my window and poked my head outside.

"What in God's name are you doing, Stiles?" I called down. I heard two different, but familiar, laughs answered.

"S'up, Mase." Stiles replied. I could barely make out the boy next to him, but I knew it was my other best friend, Scott.

"S'up yourself. It's ten o'clock. We have school tomorrow. I'm going to bed." I said shortly, closing my window slowly. Nothing Stiles and Scott had to say this late at night, especially on a school night, was anything good.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Stiles shouted, receiving a thump and a 'shhh' from Scott. He grunted but kept talking, "Stop being such an overachiever and come down here! I was listening to my dad's police scanner – "

"Naturally—" I muttered.

"—And I heard they found a dead body in the forest! So we gotta go!" Stiles said, waving his hands beckoningly.

I stood there, not believing my ears. "Uh – first of all I'm not an overachiever; I just care about my education. Second your dad told you to stop listening to the scanner. Third, I'm not going to run around the forest at night looking for a body. And lastly, if they already found the body, what exactly are we looking for?" I finished, feeling exasperated. Sometimes it felt like I was the only one who thought things through.

"Oh, please, Mase. We know as well as you that this is the most exciting thing that happened here in forever so let's go!" Scott said.

"Go and do what?" I demanded.

"Find the other half of the body!" Stiles exclaimed.

"I'm sorry?" A chuckle escaped my lips. They had to be messing with me because they know how I get before school. "The other _half_ of the body?"

"Yes," Stiles cried as if he was trying to teach a kid how to tie their shoes. "And we can't go without you!"

"And why is that?" I frowned, annoying Stiles and Scott further.

"Because you know all about death and bodies and stuff from your dumb advanced classes!"

Irked, yet flattered by this comment, I felt my resolve wavering and then fail. "Fine." I could hear them cheering over their victory as I grabbed my coat. I climbed out my window and jumped. Stiles and Scott caught me and we set off for the jeep.

"And for your information my advanced classes aren't dumb. If they were, you'd be allowed in them." I glared playfully at Stiles. Scott snorted and took his seat in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a genius. We know." He rolled his eyes but opened the door for me anyway.

I took my seat in the back, biting back my comeback. "So what exactly is the plan?"

"I don't think Stiles has thought that far ahead yet." Scott said simply as Stiles got in.

"Of course I have a plan." He said defensively, "When don't I have a plan?

Catching Scott's eye, we said, "Only always."

"Whatevs." He shrugged and drove down the gravel road that led away from my house.

* * *

><p>I watched the trees fly by as we hit the road. There has always been something beautiful about night time. I always just lay in bed staring up at the moon and the perfection of it.<p>

I glanced at the moon, which was slightly obstructed by clouds. Between the dancing light of the moon and soft Jack Johnson music playing from Stiles' stereo, I felt myself dosing.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on us." Scott nudged me slightly, instantly I was awake.

"Right," I stifled a yawn. "So, Stiles, what _is_ the plan?"

"Oh, ya know…." He said evasively.

"Oh, right. Good plan." Scott agreed mockingly. I snorted but hadn't really expected a solid answer form him.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Stiles yelled "We're here!" unnecessarily loud. We all got out and set off into the dark, dense forest.

"So which half of the body are we looking for?" Scott asked after a couple minutes of walking.

"Dunno." Stiles grunted.

"And what are we going to do if the murderer is still here?" I whispered tauntingly. Scott stopped and shivered as Stiles glared at me again.

"I didn't think about that."

"'Course you didn't." I sighed. There was a menacing _crack_ and we all turned with a singular gasp.

"What was that?" Scott whispered, his countenance frightened. His inhaler was out in a flash as he gasped for air.

Stiles shook his head rapidly. I glanced around, surveying the darkness that had suddenly turned unfriendly. I thought I saw something move in the distance, but instead of wanting to worry the others, I tried to convince myself it had just been the dark playing tricks on my eyes.

"Just the wind…." I muttered. Scott and Stiles seemed to accept this solution and we set off again, our ears alert to any sound this time. Scott kept his inhaler in hand, using it frequently.

"How are we supposed to find the body when everyone is out there looking for it?" I asked, crouching under a branch.

"It's about the adventure, not the logic." Stiles said a-matter-of-factly.

"Right. I can't believe I haven't seen that before. Get murdered in the dark now, think later." I said sarcastically. "That should be our motto."

Stiles chuckled, throwing an arm over my shoulders. "Loosen up, Mase. You'll have all the time in the world to be a grown up after high school." I leaned into him as we walked, falling silent. I've heard he and Scott tell me that so many times that I knew when this talk was coming and that was my cue to stop talking.

"Guys." Scott took another hit of his inhaler. "Maybe we should just head home."

"We can't go home until we find the body!"

"Let's just go up this ridge and if we don't see anything, we'll head back." I compromised.

Scott nodded with another breath from his inhaler and Stiles dropped his arm and mumbled nonchalantly, running up ahead.

Scott and I had almost met up with Stiles when he ducked down suddenly.

"Shit." He groaned. His eyes were shut in contemplation.

"What?" I questioned but as I looked over the edge I could see lights and police dogs.

"Awesome." Scott moaned (breathing through his inhaler).

"We're going to get arrested. This was such a good idea." I whispered sarcastically.

"Don't be stupid. My dad's not going to arrest us." Stiles said, peering at the lights. "But just in case…."

"Run?" Scott offered.

"Run." He confirmed and we set off, getting split up in the dark.

* * *

><p>"Stiles?" I whispered urgently, "Scott?" I listened for any reply, or the sound of someone blowing on an inhaler, but neither came. I had always felt at ease in the forest, especially since Mayfield is practically one big sunny forest. I grew up spending all my time with Stiles and Scott or at my dad's coal mine (which was in the center of the forest). I'd walk home from my dad's work all the time before Stiles got his license so I never really thought twice about being alone in the dark in the forest.<p>

Tonight, however, something was off. There were no animals, no chirping grasshoppers, and no warmth. It was like I was in some spooky forest that I had no claim to and for the first time, I was afraid. Every snapping twig sounded like some crazed murderer coming to kill me and every sway of a branch made me feel like I was stuck in a horror film. Something was in this forest and it was something that didn't belong.

"Stiles?" I tried again. No answer. "Scott?" Silence.

My breath sped up as terror engulfed me. Another twig snapped and I whipped around so fast I felt my neck kink. Rubbing it, I squinted to see if anything was there or if it was my mind playing terrible tricks on me. Another _snap_.

"Hello?" My voice broke. If this was some sick joke Stiles made up he was going to die. Painfully.

Then I heard a growl that made my heart freeze. I choked on my breath and held as still as I possibly could. In the looming darkness I could make out something like a dog in the mess of trees. Its yellow eyes beckoned me to come closer.

Just one step couldn't hurt…

I pushed three steps forward…

The dog was striding towards me…

One more and then I could go back and find the boys. Just one—

A hand grabbed me from behind, "Mason Mayfield, you better get home before your daddy finds out your gone." A stern, fatherly voice reprimanded me. I turned to see Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles. Stiles looked shaken but otherwise okay.

"Where's—" I started but Stiles quickly jerked his head, causing me to change my question. "You been?" I finished lamely.

"Take her home, Rupert." Sheriff Stilinski ordered Stiles (who cringed at the use of his real name). His gaze swept the outskirts of the trees and he headed back to the others.

"Where's Scott?" I asked once the Sheriff was out of earshot.

"I dunno. But he'll be alright." (Though Stiles didn't look too sure.) "Let's get you home."

He held out his hand.

I looked behind me, searching for the beast, but saw nothing. "I hope Scott gets home safe."


	2. Rabies

I didn't get much sleep. Any would probably be the more appropriate word. When Stiles dropped me off I climbed up to my window, tossed myself in, and the worrying commenced.

What was that thing in the forest? Where was Scott? Did that thing get him? Did he find the other half of the body? The questioned poured into my mind and I couldn't get them to cease.

My alarm clock chirped at six and I got up immediately for something to do. I took longer doing my hair and ironing my clothes then I probably would have, but under the circumstances I deemed it necessary. I blared my music, trying to drown out my thoughts, without success.

So at seven, when Stiles arrived, it was welcomed with more enthusiasm than usual.

"Morning." I chided as I tossed my backpack in the back, and then stole the front seat.

Stiles looked as though he had had about as much sleep as me and with the looming prospect of school, I could tell he was not in the mood for pleasantries, or manners. He grumbled something about school and put the car into reverse.

"Schools finally here!" I smiled brightly, annoying him further.

"_Ugh_. Don't say the 'S' word in my presence." He rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Hey, at least you have lacrosse to look forward to." I said reasonably. He tilted his head to the side in resigned agreement but still seemed to be disgusted by the fact that I was happy about school.

I watched him fumble around with the radio for a few minutes, something he did when he was agitated. I swatted his hand, earned a glare, and set it to his favorite channel. "Have you heard from Scott?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

He cleared his throat, "I'm sure he got home okay." So, that was a no.

"I saw something last night." He stopped jerkily at a stop sign and glanced at me with concern.

"Something like a sweet innocent puppy or a crazed body chopping murderer?" He questioned uneasily.

"It looked more like a wolf, I guess." I shrugged. He nodded in understanding and let a sigh of relief. "But it could have been a crazed body chopping murdering wolf; it was hard to tell in the dark."

"Ha ha." He snorted, turning his blinker on as we pulled into the school parking lot. I scanned the school parking lot for Scott but he wasn't to be seen. Every other person who went to our school seemed to be there but Scott. I watched kids greet each other with hugs and handshakes, showing off their first day of school outfits, or just grossly making out with their lacrosse captain boyfriends. I felt like dry heaving as I watched Lydia, the captain of our cheer team and Jackson get it on in front of the school doors, praying the principle would come out and give them detention.

Stiles halted in his usual parking spot and pull the keys out of the ignition. I observed the way he nervously gazed out at the green full of our classmates. I knew he was looking for Scott and wishing he could have stayed to find him last night.

"He's here!" Stiles cried suddenly, laughing in relief. My eyes followed to where he was pointing and saw Scott, safe and sound, locking his bike to the bike rack. We jumped out in unison and ran up to Scott.

"Scott!" I squealed, throwing myself on him with a hug. I then proceeded to punch him as hard as I could.

"Ow." He grunted, rubbed his arm.

"Where the hell did you go last night, dude?" Stiles interrogated. Scott threw up his hands surrender.

"Whoa, what's with the third degree?" He joked, I shook my head despairingly.

"You asshole," I punched him again; "we thought you had been murdered!"

"I'm fine." He smiled reassuringly.

"Come here, you." Stiles pulled him into a hug, ruffling up his hair. I laughed at the sight of Stiles mock emotional affection and Scott attempting to push him off.

"What happened to you last night?" Stiles asked casually as though he hadn't just attacked Scott with hug.

"Well we got split up and then I dropped my inhaler as I ran so I had to stop and look for it. I heard something in the trees and when I turned to see what it was, this _thing_ attacked me," He lifted up his shirt to show a heavily bandaged wound.

I clasped my hands to my mouth hard. "Oh my God! Are—are you okay?" it was Stiles turn to get hit, "I told you we should have stayed and looked for him!"

"Okay, _ow_," He cried, massaging his side, "Was it a wolf? Mason said she saw one last night."

Scott shrugged, "I guess. I didn't really get a great look at it on account of it kinda just biting me and running away.

"Let me see it," I tried to lift up his shirt the see the wound but he pushed my hand away.

"Ow!" He grunted, "It's fine, I cleaned it and everything."

"Did you really clean it? That could get really infected." I scolded.

"Yeah, it might turn black and fall off." Stiles mocked.

"Do you want to be punched again?" I seethed. Stiles crossed his arms protectively over his chest and fell silent.

"Just let me see it." I asked relentlessly to Scott.

"Mase, it's fine," He laughed, "Really!" He added at the unconvinced expression on my face.

"She's not going to hurt you. Mason's like pre-med. She's practically a certified doctor." Stiles chimed in, hoping if he was on my side I wouldn't beat him.

I rolled my eyes but said, "Fine. If you die from some flesh eating virus, it's on you."

Scott chuckled, thinking this conversation was over. "Or, rabies," I continued. "Did you know that ninety-seven percent of rabies cases are from dog bites? Early symptoms include insomnia, abnormal behaviors, and paranoia." I began to walk towards to school doors as the bell rang. "Death usually occurs after two days of the first symptoms and even with treatment there is only about an eight percent survival rate." I said casually, watching Scott's eyes widen.

As I walked up the stairs I could hear Scott ask, "She's messing with me, right?"

"Those seem like pretty real statistics, Bro. You might wanna get that checked out." Stiles said with a straight face, following in the footsteps.

"Fuck you, guys." He muttered, though still looking worried. I caught Stiles' eye and cracked a smile. He shook his head, laughing silently and Scott caught up looking annoyed.

"You know I think agitation is another early-on symptom." Stiles said casually, giving Scott a meaningful look, as though this was the last time they would see each other.

"I do believe you are correct, Stiles." I agreed as Scott stormed past us.

"I _don't_ have rabies." He muttered and slouched off to our homeroom, Stiles and I held onto each other for support from laughing.

"If you start to feel afraid of water, you should head to the nearest rabies center!" Stiles howled.


	3. The Wolf In The Woods

"Welcome back everyone," Our tall, stern homeroom teacher, Ms. Gunderson, greeted the class in her usual pompous manner. "I hope everyone had a productive summer?"

A few kids nodded groggily, most were preoccupied by staring out the window daydreaming about next summer.

"This year is going to be a very important year. Sophomore year you will be taking a class with me about your future career choices. This week I will assign you to come and talk to me about a potential career you would like to look into if you've chosen one. If you don't have anything in mind we will discuss other options." Her loud, low voice boomed throughout the classroom to make sure we were all listening.

I sat up straight and attentive, writing down everything she said. Ms. Gunderson announced when we were to come in and speak with her. I wrote down my date, _Tuesday 2 PM_, in my neat, crisp writing. I even started writing potential career choices just in case she wanted multiple ones to work with.

"What are you—" I started asking Stiles about what he was going to do, but he was oblivious to my voice. Instead he was staring at Lydia Martin, or The Devil as I like to call her on cheer team. I rolled my eyes in disgust, picking up the paper airplane he made and tossing it at his face.

"Wha—" He looked around, alarmed. His eyes rested on me with a confused expression.

"You got a little drool," I mimicked like I was wiping something off my mouth while I glared into his brown eyes. I turned my back on him to ask Scott what I had started asking Stiles, but Scott was staring out the window and all around the classroom looking frightened.

"What's up, Scott?" I questioned. He jumped at the sound of my voice.

"I think something's wrong." He uttered in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" I looked around trying to find out what he was talking about.

"I think you were right."

"I usually am. You're going to have to clarify exactly what I was right about this time." I smirked but he, however, did not crack a smile.

"I'm hallucinating or something. I think I might actually have rabies." He whispered in a terrified voice, glancing around nervously to see if anyone was listening in. Stiles had resumed his blank stare at The Devil.

"Don't be ridiculous. Stiles and I were just messing with you." I assured him. His face relaxed a miniscule amount. "Besides, symptoms don't usually show up for at least two weeks."

"Okay," He stared out the window distractedly. I glanced out there to see our principle walking into the school with a pretty, brunette.

"Boys." I muttered, slouching back into my chair, facing forward again.

Three minutes later the brunette appeared in the class with our stocky, African-American principle, Mr. Cook.

Ms. Gunderson stood up immediately, holding out her hand, "I'm your homeroom teacher, Ms. Gunderson." She said importantly.

"Alison. Alison Argent." She half-smiled nervously. Ms. Gunderson led her to the seat behind Scott, who was staring in awe of her.

_'Really?'_ I thought to myself. _'Boys can be pathetic sometimes.'_

I saw Scott turn around and hand her his pen as soon as she sat down. She furrowed her distinct brows but accepted it with a thankful smile. I sent him an accusing look. He mouthed _'what?'_ as I shook my head. The bell for second period screamed before I could interrogate his odd behavior.

* * *

><p>I didn't see Stiles or Scott until lunch where we trudged out the doors to lounge in the sun. Almost everyone had the same idea as us because it was almost impossible to find a secluded place to eat. We ate under a huge, blooming tree beside the lacrosse field, as the boys discussed tryouts today.<p>

"I'm going to make first line this year." Scott declared. Stiles snorted loudly, causing Scott to glare in defense. "I am!"

"Scott, we've never made first line. We've never even made it off the bench." Stiles said incredulously. "People don't just go from the bench to first line overnight."

"Well I've been practicing and I think I could to it." He took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Whatever you say." Stiles rolled his eyes. I elbowed him softly.

"Be nice. We lost Michael Roberts and Stephen Johnson last year. They're going to be adding some new kids to the line up." I pointed out, "So, maybe, if you lose that negative attitude, you could make it."

Stiles shrugged, snagging my fruit snacks out of my lunch box.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, trying to snatch them back.

"I drive you to school and don't make you pay for gas. This is my repayment." He stated simply.

"Why don't you just get your own car? Then he'd stop having an excuse to steal food from you." Scott suggested.

"Why would I need a car when I have my very own Stiles?" I shrugged.

"You should _totally_ come to the party with us!" The Devil's voice echoed to where we sat, interrupting our conversation. Stiles attention immediately went to Lydia's voice which he could recognize from anywhere. Anger boiled inside me as I watched him look at her like she was some sort of a goddess.

"I don't know," Said a timid voice, I glanced over to see that new girl standing next to the always-stunning Lydia. Jackson had his arm around her, looking around casually like anyone would want to be in his place. One look at Stiles confirmed that _he_ would do anything to be Jackson.

"It'll be, like, _so_ much fun!" She giggled obnoxiously. "You _have_ to come!"

"I'll try." She smiled slightly as they began to walk back to school.

The bell for fourth period rang throughout the school yard, much to most teenagers' despair.

I shot up in a dazed fury and stormed up to the school, leaving Stiles and Scott without another word. I wasn't sure why I was really so angry, but it was all Stiles fault. He had been in love with Lydia since she moved here in the sixth grade and she had never noticed him once. It was infuriating how stupid he was when it came to girls, but I was at a loss about why I even cared at all.

* * *

><p>"Where did you run off to at lunch?" Scott asked after he caught up to me when the final bell sounded.<p>

"Fourth?" I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Without saying good-bye?" He wondered, unconvinced. I shrugged, emptying my school books into my bag. After two periods, I still hadn't cooled off.

"I didn't realize that I had to say good-bye every time I leave. I'll remember that next time, _mom_." I snapped, slamming my locker shut with unnecessary force. "Tell Stiles I'm walking home. It's too nice out to drive."

I stalked out the back doors of the school, leaving behind a bewildered Scott. I quickly treaded across the lacrosse field. Not wanting Stiles to find me, I decided to go through a short cut in the forest.

Silently fuming, I was unaware of my surroundings for several minutes. The knowledge that the forest was unusually silent hit me like a brick wall. I halted suddenly, feeling uncomfortable in the shade of the swaying trees.

"Who's there?" I called out foolishly. Silence answered me as I laughed uneasily. I was just overreacting because of the dead body. The body was all people could talk about today and I was just getting all worked up over last night's incident.

I walked on, though the suspense made my goose bumps rise. I rubbed my arms, chilled in the slight breeze. My heart was thumping in my throat as I quickened my pace. I wished I hadn't run off into the forest. I felt totally cliché and childish, but I wanted Stiles and Scott here more than anything.

The feeling of unease was building to a boiling point and above my better judgment I began sprinting through the forest. I heard footsteps chasing after me, crunching on the fallen leaves and dead twigs. Adrenaline soared through my vein. My foot flew out from under me as I let out a scream of terror. The cry for help never reached my lips before I was flung onto my back.

An ear splitting growl erupted from the beast above me. The shock of the horrendous thing in front of me sucked the breath out of my lungs. The monster in front of me looked like a horrible mix between a human and a wolf. The black hair that covered him partially was coarse and medium in length. He was so closed to my face that it tickled me. His breath beat down on my face as I stared into his shocking yellow eyes.

Air filled my lungs again in short gasps. A small whimper fell out of lips and I felt him search my face for something.

"Please don't hurt me…" I begged in a whisper. His eyes shot back to stare into my blue eyes. "_Please_…"


	4. Worry

"Where have you been?" My father demanded the second I walked through the door.

Dark had fallen when I awoke in the forest. I didn't remember blacking out or when the wolf (if that was even what it was) disappeared. I felt shaky and nauseas as I walked home in a daze.

The next thing I knew, my dad was sitting me down, concern written all over his face.

"Sweetheart," He rubbed some dry blood off my cheek, "Are you okay."

I frowned and licked my cracked lips, tasting blood. I shook my head.

"Mase, Mason. What happened?" He pushed away my hair from my sweaty forehead. I just locked into his gaze with a blank stare. I couldn't control my shaking hands. I wanted to answer my father; I just couldn't remember what had even happened.

I watched my father call someone on his cell but instead of his voice I just heard a buzzing noise ringing in my ears. My father handed me a glass of water, forcing me to drink some, and a few minutes later Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles entered our living room. The sheriff took a seat next to me on our red, velvety couch.

Setting a hand on my shoulder he said in his kind voice, "Mason, I'm going to need you to tell me what happened."

I told the sheriff part of what I remembered. I didn't tell him the whole story, partly because I wasn't sure if I was insane, and partly because I still was unsure what had happened to me. I told Sheriff Stilinski that I was attacked by some sort of animal but I couldn't honestly tell him what happened after that. He and my father went to talk in the kitchen in hushed tones.

"Come outside with me." Stiles said softly, taking my hand as he dragged me to my front porch. He sat me down next to him on our old, rickety porch swing.

"What happened, Mase?" He begged for the truth.

"I was attacked by something." I answered shortly.

"By a wolf?"

"I think so." I sighed, leaning back as I rocked the swing slightly.

"The same one from last night." It was more of statement than a question but I nodded anyway. I don't know how I knew it was the same one but I did.

"It was huge," I remembered slowly, "And…it smelled me."

"It _what_?" He asked incredulously.

"It pinned me down, stared at me, and then took a big whiff." I recalled foggily.

Stiles gazed at me. So many emotions were swimming in his brown eyes: worry, anger, guilt, fear. He ran a hand over his buzz cut. "You shouldn't have run off like that. If you had let me take you home this wouldn't have happened."

I groaned inwardly, hoping to avoid this confrontation. I didn't want to talk about why I left without him because that would involve discussing why I had been so angry with him and I didn't have an honest answer to that either.

"Why did you leave?" He asked. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I wanted some fresh air." I lied, "Didn't Scott tell you that."

"Scott said you were angry and that you were lying," He stated, "Just like you're lying to me now."

"I don't know why I did it." I snapped, "Am I still lying?"

He didn't answer. I took in a deep breath to calm myself. Stiles was just trying to help.

"I'm sorry." I murmured looking out into the darkness. I felt him wrap his arms around me.

"I was terrified when my dad said you'd been attacked in the forest, especially considering what happened…." He trailed off, sniffing suddenly. I hugged him back tightly.

"I'm fine, Stiles." I released his hold to smile at him, "Just a couple scrapes. No big deal."

He gently lifted his thumb to my face to wipe a tear I hadn't realized I'd let escape. He chuckled softly and then replied, "You could be bleeding out and still telling me it was no big deal."

"I'm a tough girl. I can take care of my—"

"Promise me you won't run off like that again. I don't care how mad you are at me, _please_ don't do it again." He cut across me, letting out a shaky laugh as I nodded earnestly. My cheeks were heating up at the uncomfortable intensity of his gaze.

"So, how were lacrosse tryouts?" I changed the subject abruptly, feeling anxious about where this conversation was going.

"I sat on the bench, per usual." He leaned back, relaxing for the first time since he'd arrived. "Scott was amazing, though." His tone didn't sound impressed as much as suspicious.

"It was probably his good attitude." I commented lightly.

"I don't know…." He stared out at the landscape in concentration.

"Okay, what's wrong with Scott doing well at lacrosse? He's your best friend, you should be happy for—"

He cut me off again, "Have you noticed that Scott didn't use his inhaler once today?"

I gave Stiles an inquisitive look before answering. "Uh—I don't know. I didn't follow him around all day like his shadow."

"Well, he didn't. Not even at tryouts." He continued, not really even listening to me.

"Maybe he's he grown out of it." I said, not really caring.

"I don't think you can grow out of asthma." He argued.

"I'm 'like, pre-med'." I quoted. "I think I would know."

"Well, then, Dr. Mayfield," He mocked, "Can you grow out of asthma?"

I shrugged, "Fuck if I know."

Next to me, Stiles chuckled, "Language, missy."

"Fuck you, Rupert." I stuck my tongue out in retaliation. He glared at the use of his real name but went on with his thought process.

"He even went up and talked to the new Alison girl." He continued.

"Really?" This shocked me more than his lack of using his inhaler.

"Yeah," He guffawed, "I almost didn't believe it but he called and told me he's going to the party on Friday with her."

"Shit." I nodded, commending Scott's ability to come out of his shell.

"Yeah," Stiles replied, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You going to the party?" I asked, yawning in the process.

"Probably." He grunted. "You?"

"Probably not," I confessed, "I'll have to see if I don't get murdered by some crazed wolf this week." Stiles sent me a look that clearly stated he found no humor in what I had just said but before he could retort, his dad and mine came outside to tell us Stiles had to go home, and I to bed.

"Night," I called after Stiles retreating figure. He waved in response before hopping in his dad's police car.

"Try not to take anymore short cuts into the forest alone anymore," Sheriff Stilinski joked mildly.

"I'll try," I smiled, "No promises."

He chortled and patted me on the back.

"G' night, Mayor Mayfield." Sheriff Stilinski tipped his hat to my father and stepped off our porch.

"Thank you for your time, Sheriff." My father grinned appreciatively.

"Just doing my job. This is the second animal attack in less than two days," He announced, "We will be looking into this, the circumstances is too suspicious to ignore."

"Thank you again." My dad shut the door as the sheriff trotted off to his car. "You should get to bed. You've got an eventful day of school tomorrow."

"I don't think tomorrow could possible top what happened today." I smiled lightly. My father, however, did not crack a smile. Without another word, I obediently went up to bed and fell asleep immediately. A humanoid wolf chased me throughout my dreams.


	5. Lycanthropy

"I still don't think you should be here," Stiles argued. I threw my head back and let out a loud, exasperated sigh.

"I'm going to have to agree with Stiles on this one," Scott said defiantly. "Especially after what happened last night."

I hooked arms between Stiles and Scott to keep them going. We were back in the forest looking for Scott's inhaler that he dropped. I refused to be afraid of coming back in here and (against Scott and Stiles' wishes) I came along to retrieve the inhaler.

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm here with two strong, capable men," I tried reassuring them but they weren't buying it.

"You are the most stubborn person I've ever met," Stiles snorted, "You know that, right?"

"It's crossed my mind," I released their arms and walked ahead.

"Let's just drop this." Scott reconciled, "The faster we find my inhaler, the faster we get her out of here."

"I'm not some helpless child!" I cried, swerving around to glare at them. "I can fucking take care of myself." We all just stared at each other for a few moments before Scott bent down and sifted through the leaves and dirt. Stiles huffed with annoyance but said nothing.

* * *

><p>"I found it!" Scott announced fifteen minutes later. Stiles sighed in relief. He had taken to standing extremely close to me. When ever I walked, he would too, like we were attached by some invisible string.<p>

"Let's go," He said anxiously. He waited for me to start walking back to the jeep but I crossed my arms resolutely and raised my eye brows. He jerked his head to the direction of his jeep, expectantly.

I rolled my eyes but as soon as I started walked, Stiles grabbed my arm. "I thought we were going." I growled but Stiles' and Scott's attention was elsewhere. I nervously glanced to where they were looking; half-terrified (and half-hoping) it was the wolf.

I turned around to see a familiar face. His smoldering blue eyes were studying us with intensity that made me fidgit. He had changed drastically since moving away ten years ago after the accident. I chanced a glance at Stiles and we were both wondering the same thing, _'What the hell was Derek Hale doing back in Mayfield?'_.

Having parents who were so in involved in the community gave me and Stiles the knowledge of everything that went on in this city. My family founded Mayfield (and ingeniously named it after us) and the power has passed down through the generations to my father. Stiles' father has only been the sheriff for four years but he had been on the force since before we were born.

Whether we were eavesdropping on our fathers' conversations or saw the scene first hand, we know what was what in this town. Scott, however, had moved from his dad's to his mom's when we were seven and his mother wasn't a power figure in the town. She was a night nurse at the local hospital. Sometimes I wished my father was normal like Scott's mom, but my dad would be lost without power. I love my dad, but after my mother passed away he threw himself into keeping the rest of the citizens of Mayfield safe, instead of being there for me.

"What are you doing here?" The newcomer demanded gruffly, striding towards us. "This is private property."

"Sorry, man." Stiles hand gripped tighter around my arm, "We didn't know."

"We were just looking for something," Scott said slowly. "But, forget it."

Derek chucked something at Scott so fast I couldn't tell what it was. But the unsettling thing was the quickness of Scott's reaction to catch it. He opened his hand to reveal his inhaler. Derek scrutinized Scott with his deep blue eyes, expecting something. I couldn't tell if he had found what he was looking for but he veered around and stalked off with almost inhuman speed. I frowned, watching him leave.

"I gotta go. I'm gonna be late for work." Scott said, breaking the silence.

"Dude, don't you know who that was?" Stiles exclaimed, hitting Scott in the stomach lightly.

Scott shook his head, looking confused. "Derek Hale." I said softly. Stiles waited for me to say something more but I didn't.

"His family burned to death in that horrible fire—"

"Ten years ago." Scott finished, understanding immediately. They both looked at me anxiously.

"Guys, it was ten years ago." I sniffed. I couldn't help but avoid their pitiful looks. "I'm over it."

"You lost your mom. _You _barely even survived—." Stiles reminded me.

"So when did you develop the reflexes of a cat, Scott?" I changed the subject so abruptly that he was taken aback.

"I don't know," He scrunched up his brows.

"Yeah, and tryouts yesterday _and _today?" Stiles added, "You've never played goalie a day in your life and suddenly you're Brian Dougherty!"

"I don't know what it was," Scott exclaimed, "It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball!"

Stiles and I listened as we walked back to the jeep.

"And that's not the only weird thing…." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear—"

"Like peoples thoughts?" I asked hurriedly.

He shook his head quickly and went on, "Like conversations from far away and whispers. I smell things—"

"Smell things?" Stiles asked disbelievingly, "Like what?"

"Like that Solstice gum in your pocket." He explained, giving Stiles a meaningful look. We all stopped suddenly.

"I don't have any Solstice gum—" He chuckled, rummaging through his jacket until he pulled out some 5 gum. We stared at Scott in awe as he lifted up his hands, as if to confirm the truth of what he was saying. He started again as we followed him.

"So this is all from a bite?" I asked incredulously.

"What if it's like an infection, like my bodies flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something?" He said in a rushed, distraught voice.

"You know what," Stiles nodded understandingly, "I actually think I've heard of this, it's a specific type of infection."

Scott whipped around, smacking into me. Straightening me up again he said, "You serious?"

Stiles put his hands on his hips, nodding, "Yeah, yeah, it's called lycanthropy."

"Stiles," I warned, "He's really freaked out about this. Don't say things like that to him."

"What's that?" Scott glanced from me to Stiles, "Is that bad?"

"Oh, yeah, it's the _worst_." Stiles continued with his dumb joke, "But only once a month."

"Oh, stop it." I groaned as we reached the jeep.

"Once a month?" Scott questioned skeptically.

"On the night of the full moon." He mimicked the cry of a wolf. Scott shoved him with one hand as he opened the passenger seat door.

"Hey," Stiles laughed. "You're the one who heard a wolf howling. And Mason was attacked by something wolfy."

"There could be something seriously wrong with Scott." I scolded as we drove off.

"I know; he's a werewolf! _Grrr_!" He grinned, clearly pleased with himself.

Both, me and Scott, glared at Stiles. No laughs escaped our lips.

"Okay," He shook his head, "Clearly I'm kidding."

"Good," I said, leaning back into my seat.

"But," Stiles went on, his obnoxious smirk plain on his face, "if you see me in shop class melting all the silver I can find, it's because of the full moon coming up." I punched Stiles so hard in the arm, his jeep swerved into the other lane.

"Stop being a dick."

Scott nodded in appreciation. "I'll be sure you're the first one I greet on the full moon," Scott mumbled darkly, sarcasm pouring out of him.

"Good," Stiles said childishly.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I piped up, "Why do you know when the full moon is?"

He incoherently mumbled something about never knowing when the moons patterns would come in handy.


	6. The Party

The rest of the first week went by without a hitch. I was made a co-captain on cheer (much to Lydia's dismay) and Scott made first line on lacrosse. Stiles was being the support best friend but I could see the wheels turning in his head. I had thought the ridiculous werewolf discussion was over until after school on Friday when Stiles walked me to the jeep.

"How much do you know about lycaons?"

"What?" I grinned, "You're not serious, right?"

"Fully serious." He countered, expecting a real answer from me.

"Uh, only what I've seen on _Buffy_ or read in _Twilight_." I shrugged. "So, not much."

"Come on, Mase. You major in, like, everything." He pleaded.

"I major in nonfiction. Werewolves don't exist. Scott's not a werewolf. End of story." I said plainly, getting my point across, "So, drop it."

He huffed but obeyed. I knew he wasn't going to drop it and I couldn't help but wonder if he was jealous of Scott's newfound popularity and achievements. We didn't speak until he arrived at my house and I was already out of the car.

"So, have you changed your mind about the party?"

"I survived the week, didn't I?" I cracked a smile. "I'm going with Scott."

"I thought he was going with Allison." Stiles blurted. I raised an eye brow, just staring at him.

"Yeah, I'm going with both of them." I mused.

"Well, see you there." He said distantly, staring out the windshield.

He drove off before I could answer him. "Bye, then." I massaged my temple, feeling a Stiles-related headache coming on.

* * *

><p>"Mom, I'm not having the safe sex talk with you!" Scott cried, laughing slightly. I was sprawled out over Scott's bed watching him and his mom bicker.<p>

"Oh no, I was talking about keeping the tank full! Give me those back," She snatched the keys out of his hands. I willed Scott to stop talking.

"I'm not going to end up on some TV show about my son's teen pregnancy!" She announced giving him a stern motherly look that made my heart hurt a little. I watched the comical mother-son scene unfold before me and I could help but chuckle. I don't think I've heard Scott complain about his mom in the nine years I've known him and that was probably the sweetest thing about him. Observing him and his mother is the only time I ever missed my mom. I usually blocked out that memory, a trait I learned from my father.

"Be safe," Mrs. McCall kissed her son's forehead as she looked sternly at each of us.

"Always are, Mrs. McCall." I assured her.

She hugged me lightly, "How many times have I told you to call me Jennifer?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I waved my hand in the air evasively. She barked out a laugh.

"Home before eleven-thirty." She disappeared out his door before Scott could argue a later time. Scott stood in his room, his mouth opened with a response that never got released, dressed in nothing but a towel.

"Put some pants on," I chucked the outfit I had picked out for him to wear on his first date. He rolled his eyes but complied.

He came out of his bathroom again fully clothed. "_Damn_," I mocked into my hand, pretending to check him out.

"Shut up," He guffawed but blushed anyway.

"Let's go get your girlfriend." I teased, throwing the keys at him (which he caught with oddly fast).

"She's not my—" He argued.

"Shhhh," I shook my head, holding up a finger to his lips, "Don't speak."

* * *

><p>The party was in full swing when we arrived. I spotted Stiles jeep a few cars down. I said my good-byes to the adorable couple and headed off into the booming house stag. Some Black Eyed Peas remix was blaring from the speakers as kids were dancing, or drinking out of red paper cups. I scanned the crowd for Stiles but came up empty.<p>

Feeling a little claustrophobic and annoyed of being bumped everywhere I went in the house; I stepped out into the yard. The scene was the same but the music was less intruding and there was more room to walk.

I looked around expectantly for Stiles, but someone else caught me eye: Derek Hale. He was staring intently at someone standing a few feet away from me. I turned my head to see Scott in a staring contest with Derek. Allison was smiling and talking with Lydia until she noticed Scott's stiff presence. She nudged him, asked him something, and his attention went back to her. I looked up at the gate and Derek had disappeared into thin air.

I shot up and jogged to the iron gate he had just vanished from. I pushed it open with a unnoticed _squeak_ and rushed out into the street. There was a street of nice houses on one side of the street and a park leading into more forest. I could hear Stiles and Scott's warning ringing in my head but I pushed forward into the street, the only light was the yellow street lamps.

I reached the play ground before the adrenaline began to fade and I was left alone in the outskirts of the forest. I could hear the faint pumping music and I was praying silently that Scott had seen me leave. The playground seemed to be alive with invisible children: the swings were swinging back and forth as the merry-go-round was slightly twirling around. I was cursing at myself for coming out here in the dark, alone. I wasn't even sure why I had tried to follow Derek or what I would do if I ran into something sinister out here.

I turned to head back to the party, chills radiating through my body, when I realized someone was watching me. Derek was suddenly standing in front of me, causing me to let out a screech of terror and clutch my heart.

"What are you doing out here?" He demanded, his expression hidden in the dark.

I gulped for air, trying to get my heart to rest, "Sorry, you just scared the shit out of me."

He didn't respond, I could only imagine his stony expression.

"When did you get back in town?" I questioned timidly.

"Why?" He grunted, stepping closer.

"Just wondering," I mumbled, "You've been gone for ten years and now you suddenly come back into to town."

"Something came up." He replied shortly, crossing his arms.

I remained silent for a few moments, wondering what could possibly have come up to make him come back.

"I never got to say thank you," I continued cautiously. He cleared his throat suddenly; his arms fell limply to his sides as he clutched his fist in tight balls. "Before you left…."

"Don't mention it," He said gruffly.

"You saved my life," I sniffed, taking a seat on one of the swings for something to do.

"I remember," He said dangerously, obviously wanting this conversation to end.

"You didn't have to," I coaxed.

"I know." He said shortly, his figure was trembling slightly.

"Why did you?" I should have just left it alone.

"Should I have left you there to die," He growled, "Like my whole family, like your mother."

I sucked in a ragged breath as if to take back the question I'd asked. "No," I countered in a small voice.

"Then, let's leave it at that." He threatened. When I didn't respond he strutted away, still clutching his fists.

"Thank you," I called after him. He halted, almost as if he was going to say something, but he thought better of it and headed back up to the street.

* * *

><p>I sat in the dark for ten more minutes, calming myself down. Seeing Derek was like loosing my mom all over again. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my face from my hands. It was probably time to leave. I didn't want to Scott getting in trouble, so I picked myself up off the swing and headed back to the party.<p>

The party was still going on when I slipped back in through the gate. I grabbed a cup and sipped it, feeling thirsty. I choked a bit when I realized someone had spiked the drinks. Wiping my mouth I set the drink back down on the table, looking around.

"Where the hell have you been, Mason?" Stiles barked, grabbing my arm to face him. His countenance was frighten and agrivated.

I threw his hand off me, fury rising in me, "What the fuck, Stiles!"

Some people were starting to stare.

"Something's wrong with Scott!" He whispered urgently, notices the looks we were getting.

"What did he turn into a werewolf?" I growled sarcastically. Stiles, however, sent me a meaningful look.

"He was dancing with Allison and all the sudden he was running through the house sweating and trembling. I think he's sick, or something," Stiles worried.

"Did he go home?" I fretted.

"I think so," He replied, grabbing my hand he continued, "Let's go check on him."

As he pulled me through the house, I noticed Allison was just not leaving, "He didn't take Allison home?"

"No, I told you, he just bolted outta here!" We were almost out the door when I saw that Derek was the one escorting Alison home.

"What's he doing?" I observed, stopping Stiles. He looked to where I was pointing too.

"I don't know," He said, scrunching his face in contemplation.

* * *

><p>We sped all the way home. Stiles was only thinking about helping his best friend. I watched Stiles' determination the whole ride to Scott's, mostly because I was going to be sick if I looked outside.<p>

The second we arrived at Scott's house, Stiles chucked himself out the door and sprinted into his house. I followed close behind.

"Scott, open the door!" Stiles cried, banging on his bedroom door, "It's us!"

"Go away," He moaned from the other side of the door.

"Scott, what's going on?" I begged, pounding on the door as well.

The door opened allowing a sliver of light to slip into his room. "Let us in, Scott! I can help!"

"No!" He was breathing heavily, "Listen, you gotta find Allison!"

"She's fine. We saw her get a ride from the party." I assured him.

"She's totally fine." Stiles said.

"I think I know who it is," Scott panted.

"Scott, just let us in," I pleaded.

"I can help you!" Stiles repeated.

"It's Derek! Derek Hale's the werewolf!" Scott cried, grunting slightly, "He's the one who bit me! He's the one who killed the girl in the woods!"

Things were starting to make sense. Derek had come to town and the next thing anyone knew, a girl was murdered in the woods.

There was a slight problem, though. Stiles caught my eye, looking horrified.

"Scott, Derek Hale is the one who took Allison home from the party." There was silence and then the door slammed shut again. Stiles grabbed the handle, trying to pry it open.

He punched the door, "Scott?"

I heard his window open, "Scott!" Stiles yelled.

"He's gone, Stiles," I yanked on his jacket sleeve. "We gotta go to Allison's to make sure she's not there."

We booked it to Allison's house and I rang the door bell repeatedly as Stiles banged on the door.

A pretty middle-aged woman with a pixie cut opened the door, "Can I help you?" She asked, clearly affronted.

"Hey, hi, Mrs. Argent," I panted, out of breath from all the running, "We're friends of your daughter, Allison—"

"This is gonna sound crazy," Stiles laughed mechanically, "Really crazy actually, you probab—"

"Allison!" Her mother called up the stairs, "It's for you."

Stiles and I looked at each other, baffled out of our mind about what was happening. Those feelings intensified when Allison showed up by the banister, looking perplexed.

Hey, guys," She waved, "What's going on?"


	7. The Dream Of Fire

Staring up at Alison's figure, I shook my head in disbelief, "Sorry, our bad. We were just worried if you got home all right." Stiles nodded in agreement but was otherwise speechless.

The door snapped shut as we sauntered down the pathway back to the jeep.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?" Stiles breathed, rubbing his hands over his sweaty face.

I put my hands behind my head as I looked up at the sky, "Is that a full moon?" I inquired.

He looked sick, "Yep,"

"This is _not_ happening," I laughed humorlessly, "Scott's not a werewolf, werewolves don't exist!"

"I…" He seemed at loss for words, again. "I tried to tell him about this before the party…."

"You _knew_ this would happen?" I squeaked, leaning against his jeep.

"We got into this fight before the party about how I didn't think what I said in the woods was a joke anymore and he freaked out at me." He recalled, "I should have stopped him from going to the party."

I had never seen Stiles cry in all the years I've known him, but right now he was coming pretty damn close to tears.

"He's a grown man, Stiles." I patted his back gently, "Plus, he's got the powers of a wolf now so there wasn't much you could do to stop him," I attempted a joke which seemed ridiculous in this situation. Nevertheless, he cracked a reluctant smile.

"There's nothing we can do for him right now," He sighed, getting into the jeep. "He's in blood lust mode so he just has to calm himself down."

"'Blood lust?'" I repeated, feeling nauseas.

"Thirst to kill." He confirmed.

"Oh, right, how silly of me to not know that," I laughed, a hint of hysteria in my voice. "So, we're just going to let Scott run around town when he's a danger to himself and everyone in Mayfield?"

"What else can we do?" He pointed out.

* * *

><p>We decided it would be a good idea to have Stiles crash at my place, since I didn't really want to be alone after everything that happened tonight.<p>

"You sure your dad won't mind?" Stiles asked timidly.

"What," I smirked, "You afraid of my dad?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's another all-nighter at the office for ol' Mayor Mayfield." I scoffed, turning on the TV in my room. "So, don't worry about it."

He nodded respectively as he sprawled out on my bed.

"I'm changing," I chucked the remote at his head (lacking Scott's reflexes, it hit him square in the jaw), "Put on whatever you want."

I headed into my bathroom. With Stiles preoccupied with the TV, I didn't bother to shut the door all the way as I peeled off my shirt and bra. I heard something crash to the floor as I put on a sports bra and sweat pants. I rushed out clutching my heart, feeling jumpy from all the events of tonight.

"What happened?" I gasped.

"Nothing," He said with an air of someone who was trying to act like nothing had happened. He broke eye contacted quickly and began fumbling with the channels. I eyed him weirdly but let it go. My brain was exhausted and I just wanted to sleep since it was well past midnight.

I hopped face first into my bed, subsequently causing Stiles to bounce a little.

"Uh," Stiles looked at me awkwardly, "Where am I sleeping?"

I was already starting to drift off, "I don't care, here is fine." I pushed my arm under a pillow. "Just turn the TV off before you go to bed." And, with that, I was out.

_"Mommy," I tugged on a petite, pretty brunette's sweater sleeve, "Mommy, I wanna home. This is _boring_." I moaned, wanting to go home and play Barbies with my dad._

_"Sweetheart, just a minute," My mother replied slightly harassed, she was in the middle of a very important conversation with a couple who were selling their house, "Why don't you go play with Mr. and Mrs. Hale's son, Derek."_

_I looked over to see a blue-eyed boy, around ten, sitting on his stairs with a pouty expression. Not wanting to bother my mom further, I obliged and sat next to the boy._

_"Hi," I smiled while smooth out my dress. I was looking at the side of the boys face because he seemed determined pretend that I didn't exist. "I'm Mason Mayfield."_

_He said nothing. "You know, it's rude to ignore people. My daddy always says the only way to make it in the world is through sincerity and a welcome greeting."_

_"I 'spect that's why he owns the town." He snorted mockingly._

_I watched my mother and Derek's parents slip past us to venture upstairs._

_Intent on being polite I tried to start a conversation with him, "So, you're moving?"_

_"Aren't you a smarty-pants. Does your daddy say being observant is the way to know all the town gossip?" He shot back. I backed away slightly._

_"I was just askin'" My mumbled, my eyes watered from his mean comments. "I was just tryin' to be nice."_

_"Well I don't need your sympathy seeing as my parents are making me and my brothers and sisters move away." His voice wavered but his expression did not._

_"Fine…you butthead." I sniffled. I wiped my eyes as I sniffled again, smelling something. Something was burning. "Do you…?"_

_I didn't need to finish my questioned because I could tell he was sniffing at the air too._

_"Something's on fire!" He bellowed, shooting up. "Mom! Dad! I smell a fire!"_

_But as we looked up the stairs, I could see nothing but black smoke and yellow flames engulfing the entire upstairs, threatening to come down on us. I began to shuffle up the stairs but something caught me by the waist and pulled me down._

_"Mommy!" I screamed as he dragged me to the door, "Let go! My mommy's up there! Mommy!"_

_He wouldn't budge as I continued to kick and scream. We were outside on his lawn, the townspeople were closing in and I could hear sirens flooding the night._

_"_Mommy!_" I begged but Derek held onto me. Firefighters sprinted by us. I looked up to see the entire house flickering in the light of golden flames. People were shouting orders; others were staring dumbfounded at what was happening. I saw Officer Stilinski gazing up in horror as he listened to the Sheriff spout the plan._

_I turned to face Derek. He was staring up at home, watching his childhood burn away. His mouth was in a perfect 'O' shape and his face had a look of permanent surprise stuck on it. He ignored me again as I rushed up to Officer Stilinski. If someone would listen and get my mom, it would be my best friend's dad._

_"Officer Stilinski!" I cried in my tiny voice, "Officer Stilinski, my mommy's in there! He wouldn't let me go help her," I pointed back to a sitting Derek, "So _you _have to!"_

_He looked at me with sad eyes. He shook his head, taking in a deep breath, "Oh, Mason."_

_The Sheriff gave me the same look, annoying me slightly. Why weren't they going in there to get my mom? "Take her to the Mayor."_

_Officer Stilinski took my tiny hand into his large, sweaty one. "Let's go find your daddy, Mase."_

_I could see my dad staring up at the house in shock. People were trying to talk to him. They were shaking him lightly but he seemed to have gone temporarily deaf. A medic came by and forced him to sit in an ambulance, throwing a blanket around him as he shivered in the summer heat._

_I ran up to him, "Daddy, they aren't going in to get mommy! Tell them to go in!" I stomped my foot as I pleaded, gazing up at him with my big, watery blue eyes. He swallowed slowly, shaking his head._

_"Mommy's not coming out, Mason." He croaked in a distant voice. "Mommy's gone."_

* * *

><p>I woke up with a gasp. I was drenched in sweat and my eyes were wet as if I had been crying. I opened my watery eyes, only to shield them from the blinding light of the sun with my hand. I cleared my throat as my ears seemed to recover from their sleepy state. I heard an audience chortling quietly and I glanced over to see <em>How I Met Your Mother<em> playing on my television screen.

_'Figures he forgot to turn it off,'_ I thought, half annoyed, half amused. I looked at Stiles, who was still sound asleep.

Leaning into his ear, I whispered menacingly, "Do you want to play a game?"

Stiles jerked side ways awkwardly, "Huh, What?" He said, slightly frightened.

"Oh, good," I smiled sweetly, "You're awake!"

He glared at me but just rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Yeah, yeah."

"You didn't turn the TV off," I reminded him. He proceeded to shrug, yawn, and scratch his bare stomach. "Charming." I chuckled.

"What's for breakfast?" He mumbled, sitting up to crack his back.

"I don't know. What are you makin'?" I asked, grinning.

He looked at me like I was crazy, "You're the woman. You make the food."

I gave him a sharp push and he fell off my bed, flailing his limbs wildly. I erupted into a fit of giggles at his unsuspecting face.

The memory of the dream disappeared from my mind.


	8. Conspiracy Theories

Stiles left soon after breakfast because my father was on his way home. When he arrived he went straight into his study until dinner. It was our cook's day off so I ended up making spaghetti.

"This is delicious, Sweetheart," He slurped appreciatively, downing his food quickly to return to his study.

"Thanks, dad." I smiled slightly. He was almost finished now. He took one last drink of his wine. Wiping his mouth he made to stand up. I was beyond annoyed that he wouldn't even sit through a full meal with me to ask me questions a father should ask, like _'how was your day?'_ or _'how is school?'_ or maybe even _'hey, is Scott a werewolf?'_.

Maybe not the last one, but I just wanted him to act like a father instead of a roommate who was never home.

"I saw Derek Hale yesterday." He froze in an awkward position between sitting and standing.

"Excuse me?" He croaked.

"Well, actually I saw him on Tuesday in the woods by his old…." I stopped. His old house was also the site of the fire massacre. Far from making my father stay and talk, he stood up fully and began to interrogate me quickly.

"You didn't talk to him did you?"

"Yeah," I chewed thoughtfully, "yesterday at the party."

"Alone?" He questioned angrily.

"Yeah," I repeated.

"Under _no_ circumstances are you to speak with Derek Hale again, in the presence of people or not!" He commanded. I dropped my fork with a loud clatter, astounded by this sudden outbreak of anger. I was the perfect child anyone would want. I did everything right and to the best of my ability. I didn't do drugs or skip school.

"I can't believe you!" I laughed incredulously, "I can't believe your treating me like a child!"

"You _are_ a child!" He countered.

"I grew up a long time ago, dad." I growled, "When mom died you stopped taking care of me and I had to grow up _real_ fast to take care of you _and_ me, so don't go giving me rules all of the sudden about who I can and cant talk to!

"Derek Hale saved my life! If I wanna talk to him, I will. Maybe you should be a little kinder towards him because if it wasn't for him, you would be short a daughter too." I threw my full dinner plate into the garbage and stormed off to bed without another word.

* * *

><p>My dad woke up early to make a call. I had lain in bed all night in a dazed fury, unable to sleep. I opened my door up a crack to hear him walking down the hall talking in a low voice to someone on the phone.<p>

"He's back, Chris." He cleared his throat, listening to the reply I couldn't hear, "He spoke with Mason." Again he waited for a reply. The next thing he said frightened, not only what he said, but how he said it. "I told you about what happened in the forest…I think she's marked…."

He had stepped downstairs and out of my hearing range.

I sat in a stunned stupor for quite awhile. _I was marked_. I didn't really know what it meant; I just knew it probably wasn't a good thing. Had Scott been marked? Was that something that happened before you turned into a werewolf?

There was something off about this. Why did it really matter if Derek Hale was back? He was just a sad twenty-year-old man who tragically lost everything ten years ago. I could relate to that. I was there, I lost everything in a way too.

What happened in the forest had nothing to do with Derek. He didn't even come to town until the next day. Or, did he? We only crossed paths with him then, but really he could have been in town the day before…or even the night Scott was attacked. He might have gotten in town just as half the body was found….

Ten years had passed since I'd last seen Derek Hale. _A lot_ could have changed since then. Possibly, the kind of change Scott had just gone through….

What had Scott said on Friday? The whole night seemed a big blur after I had spoken with Derek.

I tried replaying the night over again in my head: Stiles and I had gone on a wild goose chase to find Scott. We got to his house and he asked where Alison was. Derek had taken her home, Stiles and I witnessed it. Stiles informed him of it and Scott told us…he told us something about Derek…about the forest…that Derek was the one who had bitten him….

Things started to click. The gears in my brain were whirring rapidly to piece this whole thing together. Derek was a werewolf. Derek bit Scott. Now Scott is a werewolf. My dad told me to stay away from Derek: either he just didn't want me around him because it brought my mother's death back to light or that he knew something about Derek (like that he's a werewolf). I figured the latter since my father had become a pro at shutting things out (namely my mother's death and me).

Why did my dad know about werewolves? He was a politician man. Ridiculous things like vampires and fairies held no interest in him unless they could vote. Who had he called? I knew all his political opponents and friends. Whenever my dad did hold a conversation with me over two minutes, it was to drone on about government tactics and politics. Chris was not a name I remembered and surely he would speak to his fellow politicians about werewolves. They would think he was mad!

I felt a throbbing pain pulse in my right temple. All this conspiracy thinking was giving me a headache. Taking a deep breath in, I advised myself to drop it until I found out all the facts. He could have not been talking about me. They could have been talking about the body in the forest and some politician that was marked for candidacy. Who really knows?

I threw myself on the bed and turned on TV though I barely was paying attention to it. I told myself to fall asleep, that I was going to crash during school tomorrow if I didn't. With the thought of becoming behind on homework, I quickly slipped away into dreamland.

* * *

><p>"Do you think I'm crazy?" I asked Stiles who was staring absentmindedly at me. I had just relayed everything I had learned and thought about last night.<p>

"I think this whole thing is crazy," He muttered, "But you make sense."

"Do you know any Chrises?"

"Sure, Chris Mackey in third period Algebra, Christopher Jonson in fourth period Health, Christian Hunt the lacrosse team's Middie, Chris—" I cut him off.

"Okay, but those are all kids. My dad wouldn't be calling up the lacrosse team's Middie to discuss werewolves or politics." I countered.

"True," He sighed. He rested his head in his hands and gazed at something.

"Could it be someone's dad? I know basically everyone in town but I can't recall meeting any adult Chrises. And what does being _'marked'_ mean? It can't be good. I—Are you even listening to me?" I asked, astonished at him ignoring me at a time like this. Ever since we sat on the green, waiting for Scott to show, he had been distant and oblivious to me. I was seriously worried about me being_ 'marked'_ but Stiles however seem untroubled by the fact that I could be assassinated at any moment (though probably not).

I waved my hand impatiently infront of his waved.

"Wha—Oh, sorry." He mumbled. I look over to the area he had been shamelessly goggling at for past ten minutes to see none other than Lydia Martin.

"You are unbelievable." I said in a controlled voice, shaking my head lightly, "I'm telling you I'm probably going to be killed or something and you're staring at that slut?"

He looked deeply offended, "Lydias _not_ a slut!"

"Oh, that bothers you more then your best friend being marked for death? Good to know." I picked up my things quickly in a falsely calm tone. "And, yes, she is a slut. She's over there having sex with her _boyfriend_ in front of the whole school. Get over her, Stiles. She'll never thing you're good enough for her."

I turned around to storm off when I ran smack dab into Scott.

"Scott!" I exclaimed. He looked distant and worried. "Scott, what's wrong?"

"Allison's—" He sputtered. "She—"

"Allison's fine, dude," Stiles was standing next to us in an instant.

"Yeah, we saw her at home after we left your house," I assured him. I grabbed his hand, "What happened, Scott?"

He swallowed forcefully.

"You didn't…kill anyone…" Stiles said in a hushed whisper, "Did you?"

I punched Stiles harder than I usually would have in the side. "Scott, please tell us what happened. You're scaring us…."

He took in a deep, shaky breath and said, "I found Derek last night after I ran into the woods. He told me we were 'brothers' and had to stick together—we were attacked by werewolf hunters—"

I gripped his hand harder, "Scott—"

He shook his head, "Allison's dad was the leader."

There was silence.

"Well, _shit_." Stiles muttered.


	9. Jealousy

Life seemed to just keep getting more and more complicated. I was 'marked', Scott's girlfriend's dad was a werewolf hunter, and I burst out in a fit of rage every time I caught Stiles staring at Lydia.

I had started sophomore year hoping to just keep up with straight A's and kick Lydia's ass at cheer but I took a whole lot more on my plate then that. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why it irked me that Stiles was a pathetic loser in love with Lydia but I guessed it was because she was the devil and was always using people. I didn't like to see Stiles be used by Lydia, or to look at her, or think about her in any capacity….

I hadn't spoken to my dad since last Saturday night. Usually that wasn't very unusual. But, since we had a huge blow out and he unknowingly told me I was 'marked', it was a big deal. He had barely been home; I only heard him sneak in the house in the middle of the night as I lie awake fretting about what catastrophe tomorrow will bring.

Now, I was sitting on the bleachers next to Allison (and to my disgust, Lydia), watching the first lacrosse game of the season. A lot of things had led up to this point as I prayed silently that the thing I was dreading wouldn't happen: that Scott wouldn't phase in the middle of this game in front of the whole town.

We had found the other half of the body in Derek Hale's back yard and now he was sitting in the county jail. Scott and Stiles had come to the conclusion that he had murdered her but I was on the fence about it. Unfortunately, with my dad's grudge, Sheriff Stilinski wanting to catch someone, and the fact that the body was buried next to his house, I wasn't going to win this case.

Scott had his first encounter with Wolf's Bane which nearly killed him since Stiles, being the brainiac he is, placed it in his backpack and Scott inhaled its fumes for too long on the ride back into town and ran off into the forest as Stiles and I disposed of the problem.

"Go, Jackson!" Lydia screamed, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"Go, Scott!" Allison cried, taking Lydia's lead.

I almost yelled, 'Go, Stiles!' just to be a smart ass but Stiles and I had been fighting way too much lately that I was afraid this would set Scott off. So, instead, I cheered for Scott, receiving a dirty look from Lydia. I rolled my eyes as she told Allison to help her hold up her Jackson sign. With much hesitation, Allison obliged.

I could tell something was wrong at once. Scott was hit by Jackson and he was doubled over. I knew he was trying to stop the phase and I held my breath until he stood up again, breathing heavily, but still the normal Scott.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes in I could see that the other team was being freaked out by Scott. He was scoring goals left and right, tying the score and at last winning the game. The opposing players seemed to be too afraid to fight Scott for the ball to do any defense or go anywhere near him for that matter.<p>

Stiles turned around, giving me a significant look before noticing Lydia and I simply refused to look at him again. When Scott scored the winning goal, the girls next to me screamed and squealed with delight. Scott was bent over again, heaving in deep breaths. I hopped up and booked it, trying to reach Scott before something bad happened or to get him somewhere he could phase. I was fully aware that Mr. Ardent's eyes were glued to me as I raced over to where Scott had been before the crowd had enveloped him. I pushed people, trying to glimpse Scott when I saw his retreating figure heading for the locker rooms. Allison was close behind.

"Shit." I muttered, looking around for Stiles. I found him watching mournfully as Jackson was receiving his congratulations make out session. Instead of grabbing him out of his pathetic state, I rushed off to the locker rooms to head Allison off.

"Hey," I called as I quickly caught up to Allison, "Aren't you sticking around for the celebration?" I cut in front of her, blocking the door. She halted with a confused look plastered on her face.

"Yeah, but Scott ran back here for some reason and I wanted to congratulate him on his amazing performance." She explained, eyeing me strangely.

"Why are _you_ here?" She asked accusingly.

"Uh—I had—" I stuttered, trying to imagine a good excuse that didn't make her feel like there was something romantic going on between me and Scott, "To see why you were going to the boys locker room?" I finished lamely.

"Right," She said surely, clearing thinking what I thought she would, "Well, if you excuse me, I need to talk to my boyfriend."

"I – uh, cant let you do that," I clenched my fists, dodging her advances.

"Why not?" She asked accusingly.

"Because Scott could be naked." I blurted, not knowing what else to say that wouldn't endanger our friendship.

She looked at me incredulously, "_'Because Scott could be naked._'" She repeated. "I'll take my chances." She smirked, sneaking around me to push open the door.

"No!" I gasped but to my surprise I saw a fully human Scott. "Oh, thank God he's clothed, 'cause that would have been _awkward_." I laughed nervously, swinging my hands by my side. "Well, see you two love birds later…."

I quickly strolled off back to the lacrosse field but was cut off by Stiles.

"We've got a problem." He said.

"I know we do." I growled, though he obviously didn't get the double meaning behind my answer.

"I was listening to my dad's conversation, zoning in and out—"

"Someone got your attention?" I cut him off angrily. He stood there with his mouth opened, looking stunned.

"Okay, whatever your problem is lately, get over it!" He shouted, "I have something serious to tell you."

"Why don't you tell it to Lydia, because right now, I don't care!" I began to storm off.

"You're so freaking frustration sometimes!" He groaned angrily. I flipped him off and kept walking.

I heard him sigh agitatedly, "Fine, _whatever_. At least she doesn't bitch and complain about every little thing I do!"

"That's because she doesn't know you exist!" I laughed mechanically, wheeling around to face him. "I'm sure you would realize how much of a terrible person she is if you actually spoke to her instead of fantasying about being her boyfriend! You're so pathetic."

"Well, you're a bitch!" I turned and slapped him as hard as I could. We both stared at each other, horror struck by what was happening.

"What is going on with you two?" Scott demanded, appearing out of no where with Allison on his arm. I jumped at the sound of Scott's alarming words. What _was_ going on between me and Stiles?

Stiles was nursing his red, puffy cheek but we were avoiding each others gaze.

"I should go find my dad," Allison broke the silence. She passed by me grazing my arm with her hand, giving me a look that solemnly said _'we'll-talk-later'_.

"So?" Scott asked, crossing his arms expectantly.

"He started it—" I began promptly.

"Oh, yeah, its _always_ my fault! You're so—_urgh_!" He let out a cry of aggravation.

"Well, if you'd stop being so obsessive over Lydia, then we wouldn't be in this situation!" I bellowed my face red in anger.

"Maybe if you'd stop being so jealous, we wouldn't fight about this!" Stiles countered.

"_Jealous_?" I laughed, my voice raised an octave, "I'm not jealous! What's there to be jealous of? Jealous? _Right_, as if." I quickly said defensively.

"Whatever!"

"Stop fighting!" Scott shouted, "Would you guys just shut up for five seconds? You're fucking driving me insane!" His eyes flashed to his wolf yellow colored, his breathing was deeper as he struggled to calm himself.

"Hey, we're not fighting," Stiles said, slightly delirious at the prospect of Scott phasing.

"Yes," I nodded at Stiles, "Just playful banter between two besties." Stiles and I side hugged each other awkwardly

It wasn't working.

"Scott, c'mon," Stiles panted, sitting Scott down, "Just calm down, buddy."

But nothing we said could stop Scott. His sharp canines slid down into place as the hair on his face grow down the sides of his face like Wolverine. Scott tried gripping the soil to brace himself but his talon-like nails shot out, piercing this earth.

Scott threw Stiles off of him as if he was a feather and burst off into the woods, leaving Stiles and I panting in his wake.

"He's so strong," Stiles breathed, sliding down the locker room wall. I followed in suit.

"He needs to learn to calm himself or else every little thing in high school will just set him off." I sighed, wiping the sweat off my face with the cuff of my sweater.

"Would this be a bad time to mention what my dad was talking about on the phone?" He nodded his head to the side to face me.

"Probably, but you might as well tell me anyway."

"The coroner examined the body," He informed, "he concluded that it was an animal attack, seeing as he found wolf hairs all over the body…."

"Which means?" I questioned, though I had a pretty sure idea of what he was about to say.

"They say it's an animal attack. Derek Hale's not an animal. Therefore—"

"They let him go?" I asked in a horrified voice.

"Precisely." He said.

If Derek Hale was released and Scott was running wild in the woods, then this was very bad. We had sent Derek to jail and I'll be a magical unicorn before he didn't hold a grudge against what had happened. I think it was safe to say Derek was out for revenge.


	10. Girl Talk

Scott and I were sitting at Allison's dinner table being stared down by her scary wolf-killing father. I licked my dry lips, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. I was the only one, apparently, because everyone (with the exception of Mr. Argent) was laughing and chatting adamantly. Even Scott was making a large effort to get along with Allison's family for the sake of their relationship.

Allison's aunt, Kate, had just gotten into town and somehow I had been dragged into coming over for their "study" date because her father doesn't like Scott, at all. I was beginning to wonder whether Mr. Argent could smell the wolf in Scott. I was also beginning to wonder if I knew Mr. Argent because he looked oddly familiar.

"Would you pass me the rice, Chris?" Mrs. Argent asked politely before receiving the said item and turning back to her conversation with Scott about lacrosse.

I, however, began choking slightly in shock. Mr. Argent's name was Chris? What were the odds of him being a different Chris than the one my dad talked to? Probably nil.

My choking had caused Mr. Argent to stare at me even more intently; feeling incredibly uncomfortable, I shifted closer to Kate in my chair.

"Chris, would you stop staring the poor girl down like she's a criminal?" She teased, nudging me slightly. Kate had an abrasive, flamboyant kind of attitude that made me unsure of whether to like her or not.

I tried to smile appreciatively at her, but it came out as a grimace. "Don't worry, Mason, he does this to all of Allison's new relations. They move around a lot and it's hard on Allison to have to make friends and then leave them again." Kate explained, looking over at Allison who was having a grand old time with Scott.

"Why do they move around so much?" I asked, wondering whether she would even answer me.

"Chris' business. Well, _our _business really." She chewed thoughtfully, "We move where ever we're needed to do our duty."

I nodded in acknowledgment, but privately I was wonder whether she was talking to me about his gun business or being a werewolf hunter, though they seemed to go hand in hand.

"See you Monday," Allison grinned as she kissed Scott. I suddenly had become interested with the carpeting on Allison's stairs.

"See ya," Scott mumbled in a dazed sort of voice. I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. I made to stand up and leave with Scott, but Allison held me back.

"Not so fast!" She laughed, "_You're_ spending the night."

"I am?" I didn't remember agreeing to his. Scott looked just as shocked as I felt.

"Yes," She nodded resolutely.

"Alright then," I sent Scott a confused look, perhaps he had set this up without my knowledge, knowing I didn't have very many girl friends. I spent most of my time with Scott and Stiles and they were all I really needed anyway.

"See you both at school then," And with a short wave, Scott shut the door behind him.

Allison looked at me sternly, but soon gave way to a smile. "My room. Now."

I followed her up the stairs. We entered her room within seconds. It was a large room that had the same feeling as mine. Although she had moved here a few weeks ago, Allison hadn't bothered unpacking. Her TV was on a faded wood desk that stood diagonal from her queen-sized bed that was topped with a cute floral design. There weren't many pictures; some old frames held older pictures but they lay in boxes, waiting the day when they would be back up on the walls.

"So, spill." She set me on her comfy bed, looking at me expectantly.

"Spill what?" I asked.

"Oh, come on," She grinned happily. "You know what I'm talking about!"

I shook my head with a sheepish sort of grin on my face, "I happen to have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, please! It's so obvious!"

"_What_ is so obvious?" I cried, letting out an exasperated laugh.

"_You and Stiles_?" She said in a sing-song voice, wriggling her brows.

"What about me and Stiles?" I glared slightly.

She threw her hands up in the air and with a slightly indignant voice, said, "What's the deal with you two? Like, are you dating?"

I sputtered, "Me and _Stiles_? _Dating_?"

"Yes," Alison replied simply.

"No." I said defiantly. Stiles and I? Together? That was preposterous! Absolute blasphemy.

"Mason," She sat down on the bed next to me, "Don't deny it. You guys are so cute together."

"Stiles and I are definitely _not_ dating!" I exclaimed.

"I see the way you look at him!" She said defiantly, "And I see the way he looks at you. He's always looking around for you. He's protective of you. Whenever you're not around, he asks about you."

This was news to me. "He does? 'Cause I think you might have me confused with Lydia because I've seen the way he looks at _her_." I laughed humorlessly.

"Earth to Mason," She tapped my head lightly, smiling connivingly, "_Every_ guy looks at Lydia that way. She's the unattainable one! But that's all it is, looking! It's merely infatuation."

I sent her a look that clearly stated 'oh-please'.

"It's true!"

"Scott doesn't look at her that way," I said in a small voice, "I've never caught him once staring at her or asking about her or talk about her. Ever. Lately, it's all Stiles does."

"So, you're admitting you have feelings for Stiles." She interrogated, trying to remain serious but was happy to know that Scott was not one of the boys that lusted over Lydia.

"He's my friend."

"But do you like him?" She waited for me to answer her.

I heaved sigh and looked at the window. Did I like Stiles? I had known Stiles my whole life and never once had I thought about Stiles in boyfriend capacity…until Scott turned wolfy and everything got complicated. Catching Stiles drooling over Lydia never used to make my hair stand on edge as I ground my teeth, contemplating ways to kill Lydia. In fact, Scott and I used to poke meaningless fun at Stiles for it. But this year….

If I took my true feelings into account and thought about the way I felt about Stiles had changed, then I knew my answer.

"Yes," It felt nice and uncomfortable to get that off my chest.

"I knew it!" Allison squealed, hugging me tightly.

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, but let a small smile break through.

"Now we can all go on double dates! Though, our previous experience wasn't all that great," She muttered, more to herself then me, "But Scott and Stiles are best friends and then we're best friends so I think we could make it work."

"We're best friends?" The question slipped out of my mouth before I could take it back.

She grinned sheepishly, "Well, I thought we had been getting along really well from all the times I hung out with you guys…."

"No, no," I shook my head, hoping she didn't get the wrong impression, "I just thought that since you spent a lot of time with Lydia and all…that _she_ was your best friend…."

Allison's smile widened, "Lydia's been great and all, but she's a little too bossy. She's good for relationship advice but if I was looking for someone who I could count on through thick and thin, you're the better choice."

I nodded, her grin infected me with a smile of my own, "I just don't think I've ever had a girl best friend. It's always just been Scott, Stiles and I."

"Well, this will be a fun change then. You can now express your long desired feelings about Stiles, with me!" She threw her hands in the air again as she laid down across the bed.

"I don't have long desired feelings for Stiles," I countered, "Just recent confusing ones."

"Same thing," She waved her hand as if she was waving off my words.

"Right," I snorted, lying down also.

We laid there in silence for a bit, my dumb, intruding thoughts caused me to speak up again. "He really looks around for me?"

She laughed her musical giggle, "I thought it was a bit obvious, he was turning around to stare at you about every five second at the game yesterday."

I blushed, "I figured he was just goggling at Lydia again, I guess."

"I guess?" She repeated, "You better get out there and be assertive and ask him on a date!"

"I'm pretty sure _he's_ the one who's supposed to ask _me_ on a date," I chortled, but it was short lived, "Besides, I don't think that would be advisable as of now."

"And, why not? You _love_," She dragged the word out, "each other. You should be together."

"There are just a lot of things going on," I laughed incredulously. I couldn't even believe I had finally admitted this to myself, let alone Allison (who apparently was my new best friend), that I was pretty much in love with Stiles. I was actually glad I had Allison now. I had really always been one of the boys, seeing as I grew up with two of them around me all the time. I could finally talk about feelings with Allison, which was something new for me.

Allison had finally coaxed me out of deceiving myself about my feelings for Stiles and I felt like a load had been lifted off my chest. I was just unsure if I wanted anyone else to know about it right now. I was absolutely sure that I didn't want Stiles to know yet. I didn't let myself hope that Allison was telling to truth about Stiles staring at me all the time. Though, the time when I had gotten attacked by that wolf, Stiles had held me and cared a little more than his usually friendly self….

I didn't think I could take the rejection if it turned out Allison was just being the supportive best friend and trying to get me a boyfriend. I couldn't bear to lose Stiles as a friend over silly teenage hormones. It would also take its toll on Scott, who needed Stiles and I emotional stable more then ever right now. Maybe the best plan of action was to try to ignore the feelings and hope they'll pass…though I doubted they would.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Kind of a filler. Kind of a _mehh_ filler. Next chapter's much more exciting. _Hint hint_: The Alpha makes his first appearance! (:_


	11. The Alpha

Breakfast the next morning wasn't nearly as uncomfortable. Mr. Argent was absent but Kate was leaning over the island, munching on Cheerios and skimming through a magazine.

"Morning, girlies," She smiled brightly, sipping some coffee.

"Good morning, Aunt Kate," Allison replied cheerfully, pouring herself some coffee.

"Morning," I chided, taking a seat at the island counter.

"Did you two have fun last night?" She asked, turning a page in her magazine.

I nodded as Allison poured some cereal into bowls for us.

"Yep," Allison smiled, stealing the milk from under her aunt.

I listened to Allison and her aunt make small talk until my eyes caught something on the counter. On the front page of the newspaper was the head line: '_Another Animal Attack?'_.

I pulled it towards me to get a closer look. There was a colored picture of the woods. The area of the forest looked distressed as if a fight had broken out there. A pair of sneakers was in a tree, dangling from a branch. What looked awfully a lot like blood was smeared on a log in the middle of the picture.

"_'Another Animal Attack?'_" Allison read aloud grimly. "How terrible!"

"Yeah," I muttered reading on about the victim, Hal Jacobs. "He was my bus driver until Stiles got his license."

"You knew him?" Kate asked. I nodded, setting the newspaper down.

"Did he—you know—die?" Allison questioned, looking queasy.

"No, he's in critical condition at General Mayfield Hospital."

"Poor guy," Kate said but there was something in the way that she said it that made me feel like she didn't think that this was just an animal attack. Maybe it wasn't.

* * *

><p>As we walked into school Allison promised not to breathe a word of what I had told her last night, but she insisted again that I acted on my feelings. I brushed it off as we headed into school falling in step with Scott and Stiles. Allison and Scott's hands clasped together almost immediately.<p>

"Did you hear about the animal attack?" Allison asked Scott, striking up conversation. Scott and Stiles both watched Allison, wanting to know what happened.

"Apparently it was a mountain lion again. It's weird, though—that girl they found cut in half a couple weeks ago—they said that was an animal attack too." Allison said thoughtfully. "Mason knew the victim."

The boys looked at me with wide eyes. "He was my bus driver in grade and middle school." Taking in their worried looks I added, "He's still alive, he's in critical condition."

Stiles furrowed his brows, giving Scott a significant look.

"Yep, hope he'll be alright so he can tell the police what happened." Allison sighed, resting herself into Scott as we walked, "Does this town usually get attacked by wild animals?"

"Not on a regular basis." Stiles commented airily as he headed off for his first period.

* * *

><p>I lay on my couch flipping through the channels. How was it possible to have hundreds of channels and <em>nothing<em> good on? That was mind blowing. I groaned and tossed the remote away from me after I turned off the TV. I was home alone, per usual. My dad was doing some business in the town over for next two days.

My stomach rumbled loudly so I got up to look in our cupboard for something delicious. My eyes spotted popcorn and I immediately decided to go rent a movie and have a nice 'me' night. The problem was that I didn't have my license and I didn't want to call Stiles for a ride. The feelings I had confessed were making it a little awkward to be around him today. More than once I found myself checking him out and got really red when he tried to talk to me about the animals attacks.

None of us were fooled. These weren't animal attacks. Derek had told us about an Alpha that was out there and we were guessing that this was his (or possibly her) doing. What was confusing was why the Alpha was attacking people willy nilly. Neither Scott nor Derek were doing it, but this Alpha was. The fact that the pack Alpha was an unstable killer made me queasy.

I grabbed the keys to my dad's Porsche, knowing full well the consequences that would occur if I would get caught. I opted out of asking Stiles for a ride because he was probably doing homework right now since lacrosse practice just got out. Well, that's what I told myself.

I had the radio low, giving me something to calm my nerves but not to distract me. I knew how to drive. My dad taught me last year after I passed my permit test, I just hadn't felt the need to get my license. I pulled up to the movie place, Hollywood Videos, and shut off the car. There was another car a couple spaces over in a familiar black Slug Bug. Lydia and Jackson looked like they were fighting about something. It was actually Jackson fighting and Lydia ignoring him while checking herself out.

I rolled my eyes and pushed my door open, sliding out into the cool night air. I slammed the door and headed into Hollywood Videos. The little bell jingled lightly as I entered. It was a little dark inside. There was a ladder near the back under a light that was out. Some spare lights were lying on a movie shelf as if someone had been replacing the light but got distracted.

I heard the faint _ting_ and Jackson entered.

"Can you get _The Notebook_ for me." He huffed behind my back. I turned around to show him I was not an employee. "Oh, Mason. I thought you were a worker or something."

"'Fraid not." I smirked slightly, "_The Notebook_, huh?" I smirked, "Always knew you had a little gay side to you."

"Lydia wants to watch it," He scoffed, "She won't even listen to me when I tell her it's a boring movie! Every time we rent a movie she always says we're watching _The Notebook_ or I wont get any."

"Awesome imagery, Jackson," I grimaced, "If you excuse me, I'm going to go vomit in the horror section."

He snorted and started demanding service again. "Is anyone here? You're probably not being paid to be a lazy do-nothing so why don't you get your minimum wage ass out here and find _The Notebook_ for me."

"Always the gentleman," I muttered, "Try romance. I hear that usually holds the romance movies."

"Whatever," He countered and we headed off down our respective aisles. As we neared the ladder, I noticed that some of the movies were lying on the floor. One of the lights had fallen and was shattered on the steps.

"Mason," Jackson uttered gazing at the shelves across form the ladder. I squinted my eyes in the limited light to see what it was.

"Are those shoes?" I gulped, this didn't seem good. We cast each other nervous glances and edged towards the shelf. We inched around the corner to see the worker Jackson had been trying to find.

"Oh my, God," I gasped. Jackson was rigid and white next to me. His eyes were bulging in fear and disgust at the sight before him. His mouth was wide open in terror.

The workers head had been slashed and you could see the white bone of his skull through the ripped flesh and bloody mess of his face. He looked like he had been tossed into this position since his appendages were in awkward angles.

There was a shuffling behind me. Jackson grabbed my arm looking ill. I glanced up and behind us as the remaining lights began to flicker and flash threateningly. My heart hammed hard and fast in my chest as I breathed deeply. A deafening growl interrupted the silence and I stepped backward instinctively, stepping on Jackson's foot.

"Run," I muttered and we set off, getting split up in the process. I could hear shelves being thrown over, movies spilled on the floor.

"_Arhh_!" Jackson cried out in pain, getting pinned underneath a movie stand for _Jackass 3D_.

"_Jackson_!" I screamed; something huge and dark brown was running swiftly towards him. I hid immediately after my cry, terrified the wolf would find me. This was the Alpha: It was the same one from the forest that night they found half of Laura Hale's body. Though I hadn't seen much that night, I could feel, deep down, that this was who had been lurking in the woods that night.

I cupped my hands over my mouth, trying to silence my gasping breaths, but my spazzing heart was something I couldn't help. He could hear it. He could probably smell me.

I could hear Jackson whimpering in pain and fear. I chanced a glance to where Jackson was to see the Alpha touching something on Jackson's neck. He growled again and began backing up. He sniffed the air and his blazing red eyes looked straight at me. I yelped and threw myself backwards into a sort of army crawl.

The Alpha grabbed my shoe and dragged me effortlessly across the floor. I tried to grab onto things but they snapped. I scratched the floor, screaming for help. As we passed Jackson, his arm suddenly shot out, grabbing hold my hand.

"Lydia!" He yelled, hoping for her to come in and help. If she had come in, she would have left us to die without a second glance. "_LYDIA_!"

Jackson lost his grip on me and the Alpha forced me along the floor. I heard the window next to me shatter. I shrieked as flying fragment cut my arms and face. I glanced up to see a wolf-like being, rearing it's legs and emitting deep growls. This one was black and smaller but still muscled enough to fight the Alpha. With sudden realization, I knew this was the humanoid wolf from the forest that first week of school. I didn't know who this _really_ was, but his electric blue eyes made me feel safer.

"_Help me_!" I kicked the Alpha's paws off me and slipped on the glass trying to get to my feet. The new wolf complied and chucked itself into the Alpha. While the Alpha was distracted, I sprinted towards where Jackson was. He was struggling to get loose. Since he was face down, he was having difficulty using his arms to push the wooden shelf off his legs.

"On three." I breathed hurriedly, tucking my hands under the shelf, "_One_. _Two_—"

The back of my t-shirt was slashed and I shot forward onto the shelf, causing Jackson to groan under my added weight. I could feel warm blood trickling down my back. My eyes watered at the pain. The wolves slammed into the shelves next to me and sent me flying under it, knocking me out cold.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Nice bit of action for you lovely reviewers and subscribers (or whatever they call you guys on ). More to come? I think so._

_Hope you're enjoying my story. (:_


	12. Marked

It felt like I had knocked out for hours, when in reality, it was probably about ten seconds. I groggily opened my eyes, hearing Jackson's pleas for help and the yelps and ferocious barks of the wolves fighting. Disoriented, I shakily pushed myself on the shelf. The wolves were fighting viciously in a black and brown blur. I didn't think the black wolf would be able to hold the Alpha off for much longer so I needed to get a move on.

"Let's try this again," I told Jackson, he complied immediately, "Now."

I held up the shelving until he had cleared his body from under it. He sat rubbing his ankle; a painful expression plastered his face.

"Can you walk?" I breathed hurriedly. We needed to get out. He stood up only to fall over. I tried to grab his arm to help him but he swatted it away. "This is _no_ time to be a self-righteous dick. Take my help or I'll leave you." I threatened. With one glance at the wolves he allowed me to slide my arm around his waist and pull him up. We hobbled through the mess of candies and movies, crouching low enough so the wolves couldn't see us.

We reached the door in a few seconds, but we breathed our sighs of relief a moment too soon. The _tink_ of the bell arose the Alpha's attention. He thrashed the black wolf into the wall and galloped towards us. I threw Jackson to the sidewalk in between the front entrance of Hollywood Video and Lydia's Slug Bug.

Lydia stepped out of her car, moodily, "What the hell, Jackson? Why are you on the ground? What the fuck are _you_ doing here, Mayfield?"

I ignored her as I tried to hold the door closed. The Alpha smashed straight through it, sending me flying onto Lydia's car this time. Lydia shrieked in horror, falling back onto her car like her legs had given out. Jackson was holding his hands over his face to shield himself.

The Alpha halted. Staring at Lydia and then he gazed into my eyes with his gleaming red ones. I had this odd feeling that he was trying to tell me something, probably how he was going to kill me, but something nonetheless. The Alpha, however, ran.

My jaw dropped as I watched the _Alpha_ scamper away from three defenseless kids (two of whom were wounded). He had just destroyed the whole video store, fought off another wolf, _and_ killed the store manager, only to run away?

"Oh my, God," Lydia gasped, "It _almost_ just killed me!"

I was too tired and wounded to punch Lydia in the face. Here Jackson and me were, bleeding and had just come out of that store with a huge wolf on our tail and she is thinking of herself. _Unbelievable_.

I could hear the whine of sirens in the near distance. There must have been cameras or an alarm pulled while we were in there. I had to get out of here. The cops couldn't know I had been here.

I knelt down next to Jackson, "You okay?"

He let out a mechanical laugh and shook his head, "What the hell was _that_?

"I don't know," I shrugged, "But I gotta go. You can't tell anyone I was here, okay?"

"Why?" He asked, groaning as he pushed himself up.

"Because I drove here without a license," I lied. He snorted and leaned his head back against the hood of Lydia's car.

"Alright," Jackson sighed. I stood up and glanced over at Lydia who was too self-absorbed to remember I was here in the first place. She was telling herself she was fine and still pretty. I watched her check herself out in her camera before I jogged off to my dad's car. The police lights were coming up fast.

I pulled out of the parking lot and sped off towards my house. I needed to find out who this Alpha was and I knew whose help we would need, though I doubted he'd want to help us at all, considering we had just put him in jail.

* * *

><p>"Parent teacher conferences," Stiles groaned, reading the school announcements on the TV's. "Gross."<p>

"At least you're getting good grades," Scott said in an annoyed voice. We had just gotten back our test and he had pretty much failed it. "My mom's going to kill me."

"Maybe you should try doing your homework. I hear that usually produces good results." I sighed. I felt stiff and sore from what happened last night. Jackson and Lydia hadn't come to school today and the whole school was buzzing with rumors about what had happened last night. The story the authorities were saying was it was another wild animal attack, but how many attacks like this was it going to take before people started to understand something bigger was taking place.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, trying to juggle school, a girlfriend, and my secret wolf life at the moment. Sorry, we can't all be perfect like you." Scott snapped.

"I've been attacked by two wolves and I still seem to be able to maintain good grades and be marked. So, fuck you." I growled, glaring at Scott.

"Wait,_ two_ wolves?" Stiles asked shocked, "Wasn't it only the one wolf in the forest?"

"It was, until the Alpha attacked me last night."

Stiles and Scott sat up a little straighter and looked at me in shock.

"I was at Hollywood Video last night. That was no wild mountain lion attack." I said in a monotone.

"The Alpha was at Hollywood Video? Why?" Scott asked, more to himself then me.

"Hell if I know. Jackson and I would've been dead if another wolf hadn't come and saved us."

"Who was it?" Stiles implored.

"I didn't get a good look, on account that I was fighting for survival but I think—I think it was Derek…." I had thought about this all night. Derek was the only other wolf we knew about and he also had piercingly blue eyes. It fit.

"Derek? Derek Hale? The guy who killed his sister?" Scott asked, disbelievingly.

"I don't think he killed her." I said stubbornly.

"Mase, they found her body in _his_ backyard." Stiles stressed.

I shrugged, "We don't know the whole story. Maybe the Alpha killed her and he buried her. She was the only family he had left after all…."

Scott and Stiles said nothing but I could tell they weren't biting.

"I want to talk to go see Derek."

Stiles let out a short, loud laugh causing Ms. Gunderson to glare at us. "Sorry, Ms. Gunderson. Won't happen again." He turned swiftly toward me again and said in a hushed voice, "You're joking, right?"

I shook my head resolutely.

"Mase, he bit me. He's dangerous and unpredictable." Scott argued.

"That was the second time he's saved me," I reminded them, "I didn't see you coming to my aid last night."

That shut them up.

* * *

><p>"I still think this is a <em>terrible<em> idea." Stiles started to argue again.

"If you say that again, I will hit you." I threatened.

We were on our way to Derek Hale's, against the boys' better wishes. The ride was silent the rest of the way but Stiles glared back at me every once and awhile and Scott stared resolutely out the window.

We pulled up the dirt road to Derek's house. It was charred and decrepit looking. This was the same house my mother burned to death in along with the rest of his family. I couldn't understand why he lived here; it just brought back horrible memories.

Getting out of the jeep, I inhaled deeply, flashing back to that night. I could still smell the smoke wafting through the air.

"We don't have to do this," Stiles said, concern written on his adorable face.

"No," I shook the thoughts out of my head, "We do."

"Derek!" Scott yelled into the house. He looked around, alert and ready for anything. I felt safer with Scott around. "Derek, come out."

I didn't see any sign of anyone living here or having been here recently.

"Maybe he's not home?" Stiles said hopefully.

"What do you guys want?" Derek appeared out of nowhere. I jumped slightly and Stiles' arm wrapped around me protectively. I tried to swallow the butterflies erupting in my stomach. Scott and Derek looked at me suddenly as if they could hear my heart beating double time.

I took a deep breath and said, "I know it was you last night who saved Jackson and me from the Alpha."

Derek grunted.

"We need your help." I said simply. Stiles clicked his tongue, disagreeing with me.

"No, we don't." Scott said.

"Well, I do." I argued, raising my voice, "The Alpha's after me, right?" I asked looking straight into Derek's eyes.

He nodded and Stiles grip around my tightened slightly.

"Why?"

"He needs you."

I gulped, "What does it mean to be marked?"

"Who told you that?" Derek asked surprised.

"She overheard her dad talking to Mr. Argent." Scott spoke up.

"Your little girlfriend's dad?"

"Yeah," Stiles said, feeling left out of the conversation.

"Why does it mean?" I pleaded. Derek's expression softened.

"It means the Alpha is going to add you to his pack."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Ohhh shitttt. (;_

_Reviews would be lovely. I heart that so many of you guys are adding this story and my others to your alerts or favorites! It makes me happy (:_


	13. The First Test

I was sitting in the library with Allison and Lydia researching our history project. We were supposed to be finding out about our family history. Allison was researching a book her Aunt Kate had given her, telling Lydia and I all about her ancestors. Lydia interrupted with yawning.

"I want lunch," She announced at stood up, looking at us expectantly to follow her. Allison stood up and beckoned me to follow. Against my better judgment I did, but mostly because of the pleading look on Allison's face. After we got our food and sat down at a table, Allison resumed in telling us about her family history.

"Does any of this have to do with me?" Lydia interrupted. Allison stopped reading the book out loud and stared at Lydia. She turned the book around to show us a picture.

"What does this look like to you guys?" Allison questioned, pointing at a sketch of what looked like a huge wolf with glowing red eyes.

Lydia looked shocked and scared. Allison waved her hand in front of Lydia's face.

"Earth to Lydia…." Lydia glanced back up and looked at Allison and me.

"I'm fine," She said haughtily, "It looks like a wolf. Your ancestors killed a wolf. _Big deal_."

"It wasn't just any wolf, it was a _were_wolf." Allison said in a mockingly spooky voice. The she proceeded to detail how her ancestor killed the wolf. I shook my head and rested it in my hands. I surveyed the lunchroom until I saw Scott and Stiles eating lunch a few tables away. Stiles caught my eye and I smiled. He returned it until Scott, who was hiding behind a book from Allison, got his attention back.

After Derek had revealed that the Alpha was looking to bring me into his pack, I had to sit down for awhile. Stiles sat by and comforted me while Scott argued with Derek about how he had to be wrong, but I was sure Derek was right, even if I couldn't say the words aloud then.

_"I can help her, but I can't do it alone." Derek said calmly while Scott paced._

_"You want my help?" Scott stopped abruptly._

_"Mason's going to need your help if you want to keep her alive and human." Derek clarified._

_I looked up helplessly at Scott, "Scott, please."_

_Stiles put his arm around me comfortingly, giving Derek a uncharacteristically serious look. "We don't like you; frankly, you give off an untrusting vibe which makes me kinda hate you." Stiles spoke up, "But if this saves Mason, I'm in."_

_"_You_ can't do anything," Derek argued, "Scott is a wolf so he's the only one besides me who can stop the Alpha. This has nothing to do with you." Stiles glared hatefully at Derek._

_"Well, since this has not only become about one of my best friends, but both, this has everything to do with me, so kiss my ass." Stiles growled. I felt my cheeks heat up as fought over me._

_"Fine, whatever, but Scott needs to focus if he wants to control himself and save Mason." Derek said, clearly annoyed by Stiles fighting back__._

_"I'll do whatever it takes." Scott asked immediately, pacing again._

_"Cut out all distractions."_

_"Okay, it's done. No more distractions." Scott agreed._

_"I'm talking about Allison." Derek elaborated. Scott halted and glanced at Derek._

_"Allison's not a distraction." He argued._

_"She is the biggest distraction in your life and you're going to have to decide whether you value your best friend's life more than having a girlfriend." Derek said blankly. My breath caught in my throat. Scott shouldn't have to decide between Allison and me, that wasn't fair._

_"Scott, tell him you pick Mason!" Stiles cried after Scott didn't speak._

_"Would it help if you knew that it would be keeping Allison safe? You're a danger to everyone around you because you can't control yourself. You're too _distracted_." Derek told him, cutting Scott off every time he opened his mouth to interrupt._

_Scott glanced back at me again, "Scott—" I tried._

_"No more Allison," Scott said grudgingly, "I got it."_

_"No, Scott…." I uttered but Scott shook his head._

_"We should get back," Stiles spoke up, "Lacrosse starts in fifteen minutes."_

_"I'll teach you how to control yourself, just stay away from Allison." Derek reminded, "It's for her own good."_

_"Okay," Scott said before turning around, heading for the jeep._

_"Come on," Stiles said, picking me up gently. "Let's go."_[/i]

"Mason?" Allison called. I looked up to see Lydia looking at me impatiently and Allison standing up. My face was heating up as I realized I had been staring at Stiles the whole time I was thinking.

"See something you like?" Lydia smiled evilly. Allison looked at me knowingly.

I was literally saved by the bell, but the look on Lydia's face, as she glanced from me to where Stiles was sitting, was unsettling.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for coming with me," I sighed, rustling my grocery bags in my hands.<p>

"No problem, Mase." Scott smiled, jingling his keys in one hand and another plastic bag in the other.

"I know this an inconvenience for you, but thank you." I said. "And I'm sorry about Allison. I don't want you to stop talking to her."

Scott half-smiled, "You're more important."

"Liar," I chuckled, "She misses you. She knows something's up."

"It's for her own good. And yours."

"I just feel really bad," I moaned, "I know you love her."

Scott stopped and gave me a funny look.

"Oh, please," I scoffed, "I see the way you look at her, it's the same way I—" I stopped and flushed. I had almost just confessed to Scott that I was in love with Stiles….

"The same you what?" Scott grinned.

"Nothing." I mumbled, walking faster.

Scott jumped in front of me, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You are_ not_ getting off that easy, Mase. I'm giving up Allison and valuable time not doing my homework to escort you around, you have to tell me!"

"It was nothing!" I laughed, trying to dodge him.

"Don't make me go all wolf on you!" Scott warned mockingly.

"Oh, is that a thing now? 'Going wolf'?" I teased, "Please don't _go wolf_ on me! What ever will I do?"

Scott shoved me playfully, "Are you going finally admit to me that you're in love with Stiles?"

I gaped at Scott. "Wha—No—What?" I sputtered.

"Humor me, Mase," He snorted.

"Does _everyone_ know? What, was there a bulletin board telling everyone my deepest darkest secrets?" I cried. How did Scott know this?

"No, but I saw you staring at him," Scott told me, "Also, the way you fire up every time you catch Stiles looking at Lydia and how you blush every time Stiles catches your eye or touches you."

"Is it really that obvious?" I said mortified, "Oh, my God! Does Stiles know?"

"Doubt it," Scott shook his head, a ghost of a smirk still on his face, "Stiles is oblivious to everything."

"He was the first one to realize you were a wolf." I pointed out.

"Well, when it comes to stuff like the supernatural, Stiles is all over it but when it comes to girls, he doesn't know vampires from werewolves."

"Confusing, but understandable." I laughed until Scott put his hand over my mouth, silencing me. His gaze was shooting across the parking lot. We heard a growl from behind the blue Sudan that was in front of us.

Suddenly, Scott pulled me off the grounds and we were running full speed across the parking lot. He was sprinting so fast that he was practically dragging me. Scott threw us behind a big van when he decided we were safe enough.

"Wha—" I began but he shh'ed me immediately. He was listening to something and then put his hand over his heart. He jumped up and slammed onto the car, causing the alarm to go off.

He did it to four more cars and then hid us in a truck bed. I glanced around, looking for the Alpha. I sent Scott a look that clearly stated that I wanted an explanation, but he shook his head.

Then, Scott's phone rang. He looked at me in shock. "No, no, _no!_" He fumbled frantically with his pocket and grabbed it. Something black flew by, hitting Scott, and grabbing me out of the truck.

I screamed and thrashed, trying to get the Alpha to release me.

"Mason!" Scott cried and I was released. I hit the ground with a painful thump.

I groaned and jumped up immediately, glancing around for the Alpha. Only it wasn't the Alpha. It was Derek.

"What the _hell_, Derek?" Scott yelled angrily. Derek was standing, stony-faced, glaring at Scott and holding Scott's phone.

"I told you I'd teach you," Derek said, "This was your first lesson. It's good that you're not leaving her alone but I told you: _cut out distractions_."

"I haven't spoken to Allison at all today." Scott growled, looking like he was on the verge of phasing.

"Yeah, but she still wants to speak to you," He showed us the screen of Scott's phone: it read_ 'One Missed Call from Alison'_. "Cut off all ties with her. If I had been the Alpha, Mason would have been one of us right now."

With that, Derek walked off and disappeared into the darkness.

"That was a little extreme," I said weakly, clutching my overactive heart.

"I _really_ hate that guy." Scott said, picking my groceries back up.


	14. Night School: Part 1

"You're going to meet him?" Stiles asked cautiously.

"Of course I am! What other choice do I have?" Scott cried exasperatedly.

"Oh, I don't know," Stiles said sarcastically, "Maybe _not _go?"

"If I don't go, how else am I supposed to fight off the Alpha _and _protect Mason?" Scott fired back. Stiles opened his mouth but I cut him off before the smart-ass retort could be released.

"Enough fighting, you two!" I bellowed, raising my arms to silence them, "Derek is just trying to help us and while his methods are—er—a bit eccentric- it's for the best." The look on Stiles face made me add, "For all of us."

Stiles huffed as he crossed his arms defensively and leaned on his jeep. We were all hanging around in the school parking lot, waiting for Derek to show up. He told us to meet his down here after Scott got off work because he thought he had some information regarding the Alpha that would help us.

The increasingly all-too-familiar black car was speeding dangerously down the highway towards us. Derek double-parked his car jerkily, only a few feet from us. He jumped out of his car with an unreadable expression and proceeded to open his passenger door to reveal someone who was tied up and knocked out.

"Isn't that your boss?" Stiles croaked, eying the cuts and forming bruises uneasily.

"What the hell, Derek?" Scott demanded, his voice shaking with rage.

Scott's boss was tossed carelessly to the black gravel by Derek. He was beaten and bludgeoned. Blood was smeared on Derek's knuckles and over the vet's face.

"Is—Is he dead?" Stiles choked as I bent down to find a pulse.

"No, he's still alive," I informed, looking at the injuries. "What did you do, Derek?"

He glared down at the vet and spat, "He's the Alpha."

Stiles let out an unconvincing laugh.

"You cannot be serious!" Scott shouted exasperatedly. "That's my boss, _not _the Alpha!"

"He's the Alpha." Derek said resolutely.

"He's not and I will prove it." Scott trudged off towards the school. "You stay with the body." He commanded. Stiles and I follow closely behind.

Scott cut the locks on the front doors and we followed nervously behind him to the office.

"What exactly are you planning on doing with the PA system?" I finally asked. My voice sounded personified as if I was using the said system, but it was just the quiet stillness surrounding us.

"A wolf howls when they're trying to locate their pack." Scott said while messing around with the switches. A loud screech caused us to jump a hundred feet in the air, clasping out hands over our ears.

"Okay—_ow—_and we know that," Stiles said, "I'm the one who told you. What does that have anything to do—"

"He's going to call the Alpha." I stated, understanding Scott's reasoning. If the Alpha came, that meant Scott was in his pack, but that was also problematic.

"What are we going to do if you boss _is _the Alpha and just comes in and kills Derek and gets to Mason or the Alpha is someone else and comes and gets Mason?" Stiles inquired anxiously.

Scott glanced uncomfortably at me.

"It's a risk we have to take. If the Alpha comes, Scott will protect me." My voice and countenance were confident, but inside I was scared shitless.

Scott nodded appreciatively and cleared his throat, letting out a strangled, ridiculous cry that was so extremely absurd that a laugh escaped my lips. Stiles looked horrified and gave Scott a pep talk to help him out. The second try was immensely better than the first.

We walked back outside to an enraged and bemused Derek.

"What do you think you're doing?" Everyone in town could have heard that!" Derek growled, his fists clenched at his sides.

"We were just trying to find out if Scott's boss really is the Alpha. The Alpha would come running in at Scott's call." Stiles said.

"Yeah, I know. I've been a wolf much, _much _longer, but thanks kid for the update." Derek said, seething with sarcasm.

"I'm not a kid! You're only, like, four years older than us—" Stiles shot back.

"Where's Scott's boss?" I asked, noticing he wasn't sitting in the passenger seat anymore.

"What do you mean?" Derek said annoyed as he turned to face his car, "He's right-" He stopped short.

"He's gone?" Scott gasped. We all glanced around expectantly.

"Does this mean he's the Alpha?" Stiles questioned.

"I fucking told you and you pull this immature shit! I've been searching for the Alpha for months and I finally had him! How can you expect me to help you keep Mason safe if I can't even trust you to—"

Suddenly, something shot out from behind Derek and slashed him. His mouth was open in horror as the scream inside him never came out, reminding me too much of that boy whose whole family burned to death in a fire. It was the most vulnerable I'd seen him since that day and it was one of the many things that made my heart stop; Another would be the fact that the Alpha had just attacked Derek in the chest and caused blood to pour from his mouth.

Scott's arm grabbed my waist and threw me over his shoulder as he sprinted up to the recently unlocked doors.

"_Come on!_" Stiles begged as he held the door open for us. His face was smothered with fear. I was tossed inside unceremoniously and hit my back. I felt a burning sensation as tears stung my eyes and the pain hit me.

Scott and Stiles grunted as they struggled to find a way to block off the door and keep the Alpha from getting in.

The banging ceased and it got eerily quiet.

"_Oh my God_," Scott gasped, "What is going on?"

"The Alpha just killed Derek!" Stiles whispered frantically.

"You don't know that for sure!" I argued quietly. Derek couldn't be dead! It was like Mad-Eye dying in _Harry Potter_: It just didn't make any sense for him to die after all he'd been through. He was too tough and smart to be killed.

"Blood doesn't just spurt out of the lively and healthy, Mase! His outcome wasn't looking so hot!" A hint of hysteria lined Stiles' voice.

"We need to move or we're going to end up like Derek." Scott picked himself up and then proceeded to stand me up. His hand brushed against my back and I felt the same stinging sensation, reminding me that my wound had been sliced open.

"Are you bleeding?" Scott asked, examining his bloody hand and turning me to get a good look at my back.

"I guess," I mumbled, turning my head to see the guys. Stiles' hand clenched over my shoulder as he lifted the back of my shirt, scrutinizing my cuts.

"Dear lord," Stiles breathed, "How hard did you throw her, Scott?"

"I just tossed her lightly!" Scott argued defensively, "Didn't I?" He asked unsure.

"I got this that night at _Hollywood Videos _when the Alpha attacked me." I said.

"Mason," Stiles said slowly, "That was, like, three weeks ago."

I know." I agreed. I hadn't really thought about how long it had been since then or even about the scratch. I figured it had healed by now. I should probably have been more troubled by this but I just wanted to find a way back to Stiles' jeep and get home. I could freak out later.

"It didn't heal..." Scott said, worry and confusion was thick in his tone.

"I guess not," I said distractedly, "We should find a way out before the Alpha comes back."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Stiles and Scott exchange a look.

Scott squinted as he gazed out the window, trying to form a plan.

"What's wrong with your jeep?" He asked suddenly.

"What do you mean what's wrong with it?" Stiles asked quickly, putting his face to the window to see.

"The hood..." Scott muttered. I looked out the window to see the hood of Stiles' jeep had been pulled back and something had been removed.

"What the—?" I started but was cut off by something crashing through the window, almost taking me out. Stiles grabbed my hand and we all set off running. Our final destination was the guys locker room.

"How are we supposed to leave if the Alpha just ripped out my battery?" Stiles panted, clutching his side.

"Derek's car?" I offered. Scott nodded in agreement.

"We can get out through the back doors, but we're gonna have to book it across the parking lot." He stopped and thought for a second, "Actually, it's probably best if I go. I'm faster and have the best chance of making it."

"Whatever. Let's just get outta here, bro." Stiles sighed, leading the way to the back door.

Just as we reached the back set of doors, they burst open. The Alpha came sprinting in, growling loudly as he looked at us. My heart dropped into my stomach as my eyes met his dark red ones. I could feel him beckoning me.

"Change of plans." Scott said, alarmed.

"Run!" Stiles cried. We ran into the next room and slammed the door behind us. Scott shoved a table in between the door and wall, making it impossible for the Alpha to get through it.

We all glanced around at each other, looking disheveled and out of breath. Stiles climbed on the table and tried to peer into the room the Alpha was trying to get out of.

"Stiles," I grabbed his arm, "What are you doing?"

"I just want to see him," He shrugged, "He's trapped, nothings gonna happen."

He gazed into the room, squinting his eyes for a moment before the Alpha slammed into the door, causing him to jump back.

"I'm not afraid of you." Stiles taunted, "You're locked in there and I'm out here."

"Stiles." Scott said warningly.

"I'm not afraid." He repeated. There was a shatter from inside the room. All three of us looked inside the locker room to see an empty room with electrical cords hanging from the ceiling where the ceiling tiles were a few seconds ago.

Shuffling was heard overhead and with a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs, we realized the Alpha was now in the ventilation system: which meant the Alpha was free.

I looked at the boys with terrified, wide-eyes and we were off running again. We ran from the locker room. It was a few minutes before we realized the Alpha wasn't chasing us, but we kept running anyway. We jogged up to the main office on the other side of school before Scott halted, causing Stiles and I to bump into him.

"Do you hear that?" Scott asked, looking around. We didn't speak but all I could hear was my erratic heart beat.

"No." Stiles answered. "What do you hear?"

"Music, I think. Quiet for a sec," He muttered and listened hard. His face changed from interested to horrified in a split-second. "It's a ringtone."

"Maybe someone left their phone in their locker. It doesn't mean anything." I said, confused.

Scott shook his head, "No, no. I _know _that ringtone. It's Allison's."

"She could have left her pho-"

"Shit, we had a date tonight!" Scott cried suddenly, scaring the shit out of me. I punched him in the arm and then clutched my poor heart.

"Who fucking cares!" Stiles said, not believing how Scott could worry about a date when the Alpha was wandering around in the schools ventilation system, hunting for us.

"Give me your phone." Scott demanded, holding out his hand to Stiles.

"You're not calling to apologize, we've got bigger problems!" Stiles argued while Scott took the phone anyway.

"I'm not calling for that. I'm calling cause she's here." He dialed the number and waited for her to answer.

"Where are you?..._Where are you?..._Come to the main office..._Now_!" And with that he snapped the phone shut, looking agitated.

Allison came walking through the Science hall doors and appeared a few minutes later. Scott ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned immediately after releasing her.

"You told me to come here." She said, giving Scott a weird look.

"No I didn't." Scott argued. Allison shook her head and rummaged through her phone for a few second before holding it up to us. The message read: _Meet me at the school. Urgent. - Scott_.

"My phone's still broken." Scott swallowed, handing the phone back. All of us looking troubled. Who had sent the message? Who wanted Allison here on? coincidentally on the same night as us being locked in by the Alpha. Things like that didn't just happen to me anymore.

Someone came bursting through another set of doors by the stairs. Scott jumped in front of Allison while Stiles stood protectively over me. Their chivalry, while appreciated, was unnecessary.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lydia whined, looking nervous. Jackson was glaring at Scott.

"Looking for Scott. I found him." Allison smiled awkwardly.

"Awesome. I hope he has an amazing reason why he was a freaking half hour late and then texted you to meet him at school." Lydia said snootily.

"He didn't send the text." Allison said quietly.

"What do you mean McCall didn't send it?" Jackson asked.

"It's a long, complicated story but we're locked in." Stiles said shortly. I heard something rattle from above us and the ceiling caved in. Lydia screamed shrilly. Scott, Stiles, and I pushed Allison, Lydia, and Jackson and we all flew up the stairs, trying to get away from the Alpha.

I wasn't sure how it happened but we all got separated. I tripped on the side of a garbage can as I rounded the corner, chasing after Jackson. He seemed to freaked out to notice I wasn't there anymore so I found myself alone. I shuffled frantically into the classroom closest to me and locked the door, praying the Alpha wouldn't find me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_This is the first of three parts. I wrote this last summer when I didn't have a computer to save work on so I had to write it in parts. It was also too long to keep in one or even two chapters, so three it became. (:_

_Enjoy!_


	15. Night School: Part 2

I sat in the empty classroom shaking from head to foot for about five minutes, though it could have been five seconds or hours, I had no sense of time. All I could think about was getting to Scott and the others. I would have even put up with Lydia just as long as I wasn't alone when the Alpha got me. I thought of all the things I hadn't done, how I was going to leave things. I would never tell my dad that I loved him and that I was sorry that we hadn't talked lately. I would never go to college or have sex for the first time. I couldn't tell Scott how amazing of a friend he was and that whatever happens to me was never his fault. Maybe the most important thing of all was that I would never get to tell Stiles how I felt about him. By the off chance that he could ever reciprocate the feelings, I would never hear him say he loved me. And right now, that hurt worse than anything. But maybe that was my raging teenage hormones.

My breath caught in my throat as I saw something creep by the window to the classroom. I approached the door as quietly as possible, but it wouldn't matter if it was the Alpha: His hearing could have heard my breathing as soon as I locked myself in here. I peered through the window and saw the furry monstrous outline of a wolf.

I bit back a yelp and slid down the wall, finding my situation deteriorating by the second. I could hear the _pitter pat _of the Alpha's paws coming to the door. I held my breath as I listened to him sniff. I froze, realizing he could smell me. That night in the forest he had gotten my scent and now there was nothing stopping him from taking me: to kill me or change me (either way, my choices were pretty bleak).

But then, he stopped sniffing and walked away, just like he had that night in the forest and just like that night at the video store. Why the fuck did he keep walking away when I'm so alone and vulnerable? If he was going to change me, why didn't he just get it over with?

I sat there, feeling faint, before I realized I had to breathe again. I couldn't hear the Alpha outside anymore, so I took the opportunity to poke my head out and see if the coast was clear. I creaked open the door as quietly as I could manage, and looked both ways. There was no sign of the Alpha so I picked myself up and stepped out into the hallway. My shoes echoed in the silent halls so I held them.

I wandered around the halls of school, looking out for any sign of the Alpha or my friends. I wrapped my arms around me, wishing I had a jacket in the unusually chilly California weather. It was weird being in school after dark.

I loved school. School was a place that I could shine academically and hang out with my best friends, but it didn't feel that way anymore. The Alpha was taking the things that made me feel safe and happy and it was starting to become more than I could bear. I wanted to scream, to take back my security, to not have to look behind me everywhere I went when Scott wasn't around. I wanted to feel safe when I walked into a room or in the forest. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before the Alpha came and fucked it all up. Maybe I would still be blissfully ignorant to my feelings for Stiles and Scott and Alison's relationship wouldn't be based on secrets and lies. Maybe I would be able to talk to my dad about things and he wouldn't go around to Mr. Argent and telling him I'm marked. Maybe I would be living a normal happy life and not worrying whether I would live through the night as a human.

I sniffed in, shaking my head. Now wasn't the time to think about 'maybes' and 'what ifs'. I needed to find the others and get the hell out of here before the Alpha decided what he really wanted to do with me.

I strode silently past the main office and then out the doors to the bathrooms where Lydia and Jackson had been before they caught up with us. I swallowed as the goose bumps along the bag of my neck rose. I looked around cautiously until a shadow ahead caught my eye. I was standing, frozen, in the middle of an open hallway, as the Alpha walked by a conjoining hall. He sniffed again and turned his head, his red eyes blazing. I vomited a small scream and ran faster than I ever had in my life.

I wasn't even sure if the Alpha was coming after me or not, I didn't stick around to find out. I just wanted to put as much distance between us as possible. My breath was coming out in short gasps as I ran through the school, ending up in the science hall. I started trying every door to find a sanctuary but no matter how hard I jiggled, the doors didn't budge.

I let out a strangled cry of frustration. The Alpha had to be on its way by now. I was foolishly making too much noise and I couldn't help my rapidly beating heart as it fought for my survival.

Another yelp escaped my trembling lips as something grabbed me from behind. I fought and kicked to free myself form what I was sure was the Alpha. It tossed me into one of the science rooms and then there was shuffling heard behind me. I turned around apprehensively to see Scott, Jackson, and Stiles pushing chairs and stools and whatever else they could find, back up against the wall like a barricade. Lydia and Alison swooped down as settled me on a stool.

_"Oh my, God!" _Alison whispered, sighing in somewhat of a relief. "You're okay!"

"What the hell happened to you?" Lydia demanded bossily.

"I—I fell..." I muttered lamely. Lydia snorted rudely. Alison glared at her in response. "I wouldn't have gotten separated from you guys if you stupid boyfriend had thought to help me." I seethed.

Lydia rolled her eyes and jumped onto a lab station. I shook my head in annoyance. "You know what, Lydia? Go fuck yourself." The words just slipped out. After all that had happened, I wasn't up to putting up with her shit. The others looked around at me in alarm.

"Whatever." Lydia sneered. I smiled fakely.

"Seriously, Lydia. Get over yourself. There's a reason why you're a _co_-captain. You're not the hot shit you think you are. And to be honest, I'm done pretending I care about what you and Jackson did last night or what kind of romance advice you have! If you can't even _try_ to pretend like you're interested in _anything_ but yourself, then I'm gonna treat with the same amount of respect you give everyone else. It's time that someone was honest with you because high school's ending for you this year and the real world isn't going to make sure you like it, it's gonna kick you in the ass and it sure as hell isn't going to watch _Titanic _every time you rent a movie," I looked over at a stunned Jackson for a split second, "So it's time to grow up, Lydia. I'm not just saying this 'cause we could all die tonight, but it's something you need to hear and since no one else has the balls to break it to you—well—I just did it." I was radiating with anger and the desperation to do something.

Lydia needed to hear this but now wasn't really the time or place. I didn't know what had gotten into me because lashing out and yelling at people (no matter how mean they were or how badly they needed to hear it) wasn't me. I was breathing heavily after my rant as I looked around at the dumb-struck people. Lydia looked as if she didn't know whether to cry or yell back at me. Jackson seemed to be resisting the urge to clap.

"Oh, God, I don't know why I just said that, Lydia." I gulped, looking at her sincerely, "It's just the stress and the near death experiences I've been having, they're just getting to me and I'm—I'm really sorry!"

Lydia glared and looked away. "Cunt." She muttered under her breath and that same frustration and hatred started pumping through me like adrenaline. I opened my mouth to start yelling again when Stiles clamped his hand over my mouth. I struggled to push it off so I could give Lydia a piece of my mind. I screamed into his hand and even tried to bite him but Scott came over and intervened. They dragged me over to a corner of the room and Stiles didn't remove his hand until he was sure I could contain myself.

"I'm sorry," I said again, examining Stiles' hand. Small bite marks were visible but they weren't hard enough to break the skin.

"It's fine." Stiles said, staring at me, "If you had been Scott, then we would be having a problem, but you're purely human so it's all good." I cracked a small smile and glanced over at Scott.

"I have no idea what happened back there." I said helplessly. Scott could tell I was freaked out and he still looked a little stunned. "And attacking Stiles? It was like had I temporarily lost my mind!"

"I'll admit that was a little unlike you, but it was nice to see someone finally tell Lydia off." Stiles seemed to have gone temporarily deaf. I breathed a shaky laugh.

I ran a trembling hand through my hair and put the other in my hip as I paced around restlessly. I sighed nervously and glanced over to the other group. Lydia was glaring hatefully at me while Jackson had his arm reluctantly around her. Alison was looking at Scott, afraid.

"Let's find a way out and then we can deal with my fucked up mood swings." I said. It was the only thing that made sense at the moment. The guys agreed and Scott trudged back over to Alison's waiting arms.

I could feel Stiles watching me as he had been since I got to the room. I looked back at him and our eyes connected for a millisecond before he looked away. He was afraid, we all were. Us more so then the others since we knew what was actually out there and what it wanted...kind of. There was something else in his eyes that I couldn't place because I'd never seen it when he looked at me.

"I was worried about you." He spoke up suddenly.

"You were?" I asked softly.

"Uh—yeah—we all were." He said evasively. I rolled my eyes lightly.

"Lydia looks like she'd be _real _torn up if I hadn't made it back here." I rolled my head over to where she sat, probably talking shit about me.

"Who cares about Lydia." A snort escaped my lips as I looked at Stiles, shocked.

"Did you just say you didn't care about what Lydia thinks?" I smirked, half-amused, half-confused. "Did Rupert Stilinski just bad mouth the great Lydia Martin?" His eyes turned to slits as he playfully glared at me.

"Maybe I've just realized she's not what I want anymore." He shrugged.

I took in a deep breath and let it out before asking my next question. "And what do you want?"

He just looked at me for a few moments and I could have sworn he leaned in a tiny bit before Alison cried, "Scott, tell me what's happening!"

We stood up abruptly and he avoided my gaze as we walked back to the others.

"What's going on?" Stiles cleared his throat. Alison looked distressed as she faced Scott. They were both in an arguing stance. Jackson and Lydia looked on, watching them.

"Who sent that text?" Alison asked. Scott rubbed his face and turned away, putting both his hands down on a table as he concentrated, trying to make up a story. "What was that _thing_?"

There was silence for a few moments. Stiles and I looked at each other before looking over at Scott expectantly, though he couldn't see us.

"It was Derek. Derek Hale." Stiles and I exchanged wide-eyed looks. What was Scott doing?

"Your friend from the parking lot? That guy whose family burned to death in the fire?" She asked, confused. Scott shook his head.

"We're _not _friends. He led us here and trapped us. He killed the janitor-" Alison, Lydia, and Jackson let out weird noises between disgust and disbelief.

_"Oh my, God!" _Alison looked terrified.

"Why haven't we called the police yet?" Lydia demanded.

"Yeah, let's do that." Jackson declared. "Stiles, call your dad and tell him to bring all his rent-a-cop friends and save us."

Stiles shook his head in disbelief. "No."

"Stiles," I looked at him questioningly. Jackson went about it the wrong way but we needed help, and Stiles' dad had the whole department behind him.

"I'm not leading my dad here to get killed." Stiles said resolutely.

"Whatever," Lydia rolled her eyes, getting out her phone, "I'll call." She dialed the number and waited. "Hello—yes, we're trapped at the school by some crazed killer and you need to send everyone you—no, I—but—" She looked at her phone, stunned, "They hung up on me."

"The _police _hung up on you?" Jackson asked.

"They said that they got a tip that some kids were going to prank call about being trapped at the school and they hung up!" Lydia cried, becoming frantic.

"Stiles, call your dad." Alison pleaded. I watched Stiles' Adams apple quiver as he swallowed.

"No." He turned away from us.

"Stop fucking around and call him!" Jackson yelled.

"Calm dow—" I started.

"If you don't call him, I will." Jackson reached his arm around Stiles to get his phone but Stiles turned around and punched him in the face.

"Stiles!" I cried, shocked.

"Jackson!" Lydia screeched. Alison bent down and touched his face.

"Are you okay?" Alison murmured. Scott and Lydia looked down at them, frowning.

"Stiles," I repeated. "You gotta call your dad."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>_ Won't be able to post tomorrow. I gots a dance competition so hope this will hold y'all off 'til Sunday!_

_Thanks for all your reviews so far. You guys are fantastical (:_


	16. Night School: Part 3

I reached out and gently touched his jean clad arm.

"I can't." He said fiercely, shaking his head.

"Stiles, we need his help." Scott tried. Stiles, however, seemed determined to not give in.

"Stiles, I know how you feel and so does Scott," I explained, trying to find a way to break through his resolve. "I know you love your dad more than anything in the world and I know how hard it would be for me to call my dad to come down here, no matter how armed he was, because I know what's really going on here and I'd be afraid for his safety. Hell, I'm afraid for him and he's safe at home watching the History Channel."

Stiles sniffed and looked away, ignoring Scott and me, but I knew he was beginning to give in.

"I understand how hard it is for you to make this call, but if we don't get some help soon, we won't live to take the SAT's tomorrow." Stiles grimaced and looked down at his phone. Scott groaned loudly.

"I _totally _forgot about that!" He slapped a hand to his forehead. To be honest, after all that had been going on, I had too.

"I'll call." Stiles muttered as he pressed his dad's speed dial number and put his phone to his ear. "Hey, dad," The others perked up, we were getting saved. "This is your voice mail but as soon as you turn back on your phone, you need to check your messages—"

There was a slammed against the door and half the stools came tumbling down.

"Dad, come to the school—"

_Slam_. The Alpha was throwing himself at the door, weakening it tremendously. Lydia and Alison were screaming, Jackson was sheet white, and Scott was looking around, panicking about what to do.

"We're trapped at the school! Dad, bring everyone to the school—!"

"The stairs!" Scott exclaimed.

"They only lead up!" Jackson shot back, looking fearfully at the door. _BANG_.

"That puts more space between us and Derek," Alison piped up, taking Scott's side, "And that's all we have right now."

"Let's go!" Lydia screamed and ran for the stairs. The others followed in hot pursuit.

"Dad, please hurry! Get to the school!" Stiles finished.

"Come on!" I grabbed his hand and we ran after the others, slamming the door behind us. We ran up the stairs and met the others in the next science classroom. As soon as we passed through the doors, the other four began pushing anything they could find up against the wall. Scott shoved a table against it and faced the rest of us.

"That'll hold him off for now, but we need to figure something else out." He announced.

"The police are coming." Jackson said stubbornly.

"If my dad checks his phone. Odds are he's asleep right now." Stiles confessed, leaning his body against the wall. We were oddly still holding hands. I felt my hands heat up as I released his sweaty hand from mine. I could feel his gaze on my face but I refused to look at him. Lydia had this evil conniving look on her face that was once again giving me an uneasy, distracted feeling.

"How fucking fantastic." Lydia said in her pissy voice, "I'm glad the police are _always _there when you really need them. He's probably off harassing kids and giving them tickets to reach his quota for the month."

I made to hit Lydia in the face as the rage roared within me again, but Scott grabbed me just in time.

"I swear to God if you don't stop speaking, Derek's not gonna be the one to murder you." I said between clenched teeth. She glared again and turned her nose the other way with a loud "hmph!"

"So," Stiles said, breaking the tension, "Let's make another plan since we can't fully rely on the police to come rescue us right now."

We all sat in silence, trying to come up with ways to get the hell out of here.

"There's the fire escape." Alison piped up, pointing to the red door.

"That could work." Stiles approved. I walked over to the door, seeing a flaw in the plan. I shoved on the door but it didn't budge.

"It's locked." I sighed, "And seeing as the only person we know who has keys is dead, this door isn't going to help us."

"The janitor?" Scott questioned, furrowing his brow in thought.

I nodded and leaned back against the teacher's desk.

"I can get the keys." He said. I stood up straight again as everyone looked at Scott like he'd lost his mind.

"Scott," Alison whispered in a small voice, "Derek's out there looking for us. He'll kill you like the janitor!"

"I'll be fine." Scott started walking towards the door.

"Scott, _stop_!" Alison cried, "What is going on? Why is Derek doing this?"

"He's a maniac; does he really need a reason?" Scott said, staring at the door.

"Look at me!" Alison said desperately, "You've been lying to me all night! I'm beyond scared right now and all you do is lie!"

"I have to do this." Scott muttered, knowing he was caught.

"C'mon, Scott. Let's at least talk about this before you go running out there with that maniac on the loose." Stiles reasoned.

"It's the only way we're gonna get out unless your dad comes but I don't hear any sirens, do you?" Scott snapped, the pressure for him to get us out of here was mounting.

"At least don't go alone!" Stiles stressed.

Scott looked around, not expecting anyone to volunteer.

I raised my hand, "I'll go."

"Oh, no you won't." Stiles laughed incredulously.

"Oh, yes I am." I glared. The only people the Alpha wanted was Scott and I so as long as they weren't with us, they were safe.

"Mase, I can't let you come." Scott said resolutely.

"Sure, protect Mason." Lydia scoffed, "If Alison had been the one to volunteer you would have brought her along on the suicide mission in a heart beat. But you keep Mason safe and sound with us. _Strange._"

"Would you shut your girlfriend up for like five seconds while we try and save your guys' asses?" Stiles snapped at Jackson. Jackson glared stony faced at Stiles and crossed his arms.

"Lydia, shut up." He said smugly. Lydia made an offended noise and decided on giving Alison weird looks.

"Derek wants Scott and I so it only makes sense for me to go with him." I tried to reason.

"Why does Derek want Mason?" Alison inquired.

"Because he's in love with her." Stiles didn't miss a beat. Sometimes this kid could pull the most convincing lie out of his ass and get away with anything.

"Is he in love with Scott too?" Jackson asked, "I mean, why don't we send Mason out there to give Derek what he wants and then he'll let us go?"

"What he wants as in...?" I asked dangerously.

"Sex."

"Go fuck yourself." Stiles barked, this time it was my turn to restrain him.

"Just sayin'. It would simple things up for us and we'd be out in a few minutes."

"Jackson, just stop talking." Scott glared at his teammate and turned back to Stiles and I.

"I don't like this, Mase." He shook his head mournfully.

"I don't like it either but you can't go alone and they're not safe with me here." I said, "And I'm not safe if you're not there." I added, knowing I'd won him over. I could see Lydia lean in to whisper something in Alison's ear.

"Fine, it's settled. Mason and I will go get the keys, you four stay here." Scott announced.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Stiles waved his hands, "I'm coming too!"

"No, you're staying here with them." I told him.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight with Derek out there!" Stiles said in a distressed voice, "I can't sit here not knowing if your okay or not."

I smiled slightly at his sweetness. I put a hand on his face and lightly stroked it. "I'll be fine. I _promise_. We'll be back in no time."

"Besides, I can't leave Alison without someone I trust." Scott nodded. Stiles heaved a sigh but agreed.

"Fine. Bring her back _safe_." He looked meaningfully at Scott.

Scott made for the door again when Alison stopped him again.

"Scott, _please_. _Please _don't do this." She begged, grabbing his hand. He just shook his head sadly.

"I'm going to get us outta here." He smiled halfheartedly.

He released her hand but she pulled him in for a kiss. I looked immediately at Stiles and without knowing what had come over me, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I didn't give him time to respond before I released and looked at him with a worried look. He looked like he was in a daze.

He looked at me with that same look in his eyes that I saw in the other room. "If you see the Alpha, you run _right_ back up here, Mason Mayfield. I don't care where Scott is, he can take of himself, but _you _on the other hand don't have wolfy abilities and I'd like to keep it that way. I can only take so many new changes in my life before I break into hives." He joked in a low voice. I let out a soft chuckle before nodding.

"Be safe." I sniffed before joining Scott outside the doorway.

* * *

><p>We walked in silence for a few minutes before Scott finally spoke up.<p>

"You kissed Stiles." I glanced at his face to see that despite the fact that we were trapped by the Alpha, despite the fact that Alison knew that Scott was lying to her, and _despite _the fact that we were in search of our janitors dead body for keys to release us from the school, Scott was smiling.

"Stop smiling." I joked lightly, "It's creepy."

"I've only been waiting for this moment forever and you have to do it when we're locked in a school with the Alpha and leaving him the second after kissing him to search for the keys so you can't even talk about it." Scott chuckled, shaking his head.

"You sound like such a girl right now." I snorted. He nudged me softly into a locker. I shoved him back harder. He made to retaliate but I sent him a look that plainly said 'touch me again and I will punch you in the face'.

"Did you see Stiles' face?" Scott reminisced, laughing on behalf of his best friend.

"When?"

"After you took his lip-ginity away." I let out a giggle, forgetting that Stiles had never had his first kiss.

"Shit. I'd forgotten we used to call him 'Virgin Lips'. But yeah, he looked like normal Stiles to me."

"He was looking at you all lovey dovey and didn't want you to go." Scott smirked.

"You didn't want me to go either." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I also didn't want you to kiss me either. Or again in Stiles' case..."

"Can we stop talking about this?" I chuckled, "You're turning into a huge pussy and we can't have that with the eminent danger of the Alpha looming over our heads." I joked.

"Yeah, yeah," He shrugged, "When we get back are you gonna confess your love to him?"

I smacked him in the chest causing him to wince in pain.

"Let's focus on finding the dead body, shall we?" I smiled sweetly at Scott who scowled, mumbling mutinously under his breath.

We walked in silence for a little while, I walked behind Scott since he could smell where we were going and I hadn't the slightest clue. We stopped after several minutes in front of the gym.

"He moved the body." He said gruffly. I shivered slightly.

We entered the empty gym; I could feel the goose bumps rise all over my body. Something didn't feel right here (besides the fact that there was a dead janitor somewhere in here).

Our footsteps echoed in the dark. The only light was streaming in through the window. The moon was starting to look pretty full. I'd have to ask Stiles when the next full moon was when we made it back.

Scott sniffed the air and then made his way to the bleachers. I tip toed behind him, glancing around nervously. The bleachers had already been pulled out, which was already suspicious enough, but Scott headed underneath them as if he couldn't see a problem with this.

"Scott," I whispered, tugging on his sleeve, "This is a bad idea."

He kept pushing forward, "The janitors under here."

"You don't think it's odd that the Alpha pulled out the bleachers and _placed _the janitor's body under here? He knows we need those keys. He's around here somewhere."

Scott nodded in understanding but didn't stop, "The Alpha somehow knows everything, but we gotta do this. We'll deal with the Alpha when he comes." He muttered, as he was hit with something on his shoulder. He wiped it off with his hand and put it up to the moon light. It was vibrant red blood. We glanced up to see the janitor's body hanging a few feet above us in the metal bars.

I let out a audible gasp as I caught a glimpse of his mangled body. It looked like the same thing that happened to the worker at the video store.

"Be careful," I called softly, trying not to scream from the horrid sight of the man's mangled body.

Scott tried reaching for the keys that were dangling from the janitors clip. He jumped for them but they were just out of his reach. He climbed up the rafters and threw out his hand. Just as he did, there was a buzzing noise and the bleachers began closing in.

I looked around horrified, knowing this had been a trap. "Scott! Let's get outta here!" I screamed, tugging on his sleeve but he stayed put, grasping for the keys.

"You go!" He grunted, "I gotta get these or it'll all be for nothing!"

"_Scott_!" I cried desperately but he shoved me off. The bleachers were getting dangerously close and if we didn't abandon this, we were going to be crushed alive by them.

"_SCOTT_!" I yelled but he had finally got his grasp on the keys and jumped down. He grabbed me and he practically carried me out from the bleachers he was running so fast. We fell to the ground, out of the clenches of the bleachers just as we heard the click of them shutting.

"Fuck," Scott panted, jangling the keys in the air, letting out of disbelieving sigh. "We survived."

There was an earsplitting growl from behind us. We spun around to see the Alpha staring at us, his fangs bared. Scott shoved me behind him, getting in a protective stance. His hands were clenched and his whole body was rigid. I heard a deep, threatening growl erupt from him. I was frozen in fear behind him, stuck looking into the Alpha's glaring red eyes.

The Alpha began stepping towards us as Scott pushed me further back. I gulped, breaking eye contact with the Alpha and letting out a small yelp. The Alpha's pace began to speed up so Scott turned to me and yelled for me to run. Without really thinking, my legs took off but I didn't get far. The Alpha let out a growl that rang throughout the gym and school. It shook me to the core. I would even say that it hurt me.

I could tell that this wasn't just any growl. It must have been some special Alpha power because the pain was radiating in my back. I collapsed because the pain was so intense. I let out a scream of anguish that matched the one Scott let out at that exact moment.

I couldn't stop myself from screaming. The pain hurt more than anything I'd ever felt in my life. It felt as if my back had been split open and hot coals had been poured into it. I was writhing around, praying to God it would end, that I would just die so the pain would cease.

And as sudden as it started, it stopped. I lay on the ground panting for a few moments before I regained feeling of my body and I looked for Scott and the Alpha. The Alpha had vanished but Scott remained. I watched him get up slowly, his back to me.

"Scott?" I called out weakly. "Where's the Alpha?" But he didn't answer me. He swung the keys in his hand as he turned around and began to walk out. I gasped when I saw him in the moonlight. He had gone full wolf. I didn't understand how that was possible. It wasn't a full moon and he had a pretty good handle over himself now, so why was he Scott the Wolf instead of Scott my Best Friend.

"Scott, where are you going?" He glanced down at me, a ghost of a smirk on his face, but it wasn't the playful one from earlier. This was menacing and unlike him, even as a wolf.

He stalked off, leaving me alone in the dark, too shaken to get up and follow him. What if he hurts himself, or the others? What if he hurts Stiles? I pushed myself off the ground and tried to walk but I could feel something warm trickling down my back again. I turned around to see that the whole back of my shirt was caked with wet blood. I felt woozy and collapsed again.

* * *

><p>I woke up to bright lights and loud talking. I jolted up and looking around, confused and panicked. What happened to the others? Did they find Scott in wolf form? Would they do testing on him? Would the Argents kill him? All these questions bubbled up in my mind, causing me to start having a panic attack. I could hear someone telling me to calm down next to me, though they seemed like they were far away, saying it to me through a tunnel. I could feel them shaking me lightly as the black dots in my vision began to fade away.<p>

Scott's boss, who had mysteriously disappeared moments before the Alpha showed up, was sitting next to me in an ambulance, telling me to calm down...

"I heard you were trapped in the school by that maniac, Derek." He looked at me kindly, "It's going to be okay, you're safe now." I gulped and nodded, not trusting my voice enough to speak. After all that had happened tonight, I wasn't sure that he _wasn't _the Alpha after all.

"I need to go." I shot up and sprinted away to find Scott and see what had happened to Stiles and the others. I looked around, frantically searching for a boy wearing old band t-shirts or dark brunette boy (maybe still in wolf form). I caught sight of Sheriff Stilinski and booked it over there. I could see Scott trying to convince Sheriff Stilinski of something but he wasn't buying. Stiles was looking around, antsy and stressed out. He ran a hand through his adorable buzz cut and his eyes caught mine just before I jumped into his arms, hugging the life out of him.

"Mason!" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Where the _hell _have you been? Is this blood?" He cringed, I guessed it hadn't been that long since we'd been rescued because my back was still warm and wet from blood.

"You don't believe me! You're listening to me but you have a look on your face like your just humoring me but you don't actually believe me!" Scott argued. The Sheriff sighed and rubbed a hand over his hair, I knew where Stiles got that trait now.

"Listen, Scott," He started, looking meaningfully at the boy, "I'm putting in everyone I can to find Derek. If he's around, we'll find him." He turned to me, looking at me with his signature fatherly look. "Are you okay, Mase? You took quite the hit from Derek." I furrowed my brows, confused at what he was talking about but figured Scott and Stiles had already come up with a story about what had happened.

"Yeah, just a few scratches, no big deal, Sheriff Stilinski." I smiled meekly, trying to reassure him. "My dad's not on his way, is he?" I added nervously.

He shook his head regretfully. "I haven't been able to get a hold of him. Sorry, Mason." He looked sternly at Stiles and then walked off to do official police business.

"Where have you been, Mase?" Stiles asked again, "We've been looking _everywhere _for you!"

"I woke up in an ambulance." I answered and then lowered my voice, "And you wouldn't believe who was in there!"

"Derek?" Stiles asked hopefully. Scott smacked him lightly, rolling his eyes.

"Why would your dad be setting the whole department after him if he was sitting comfortably in my ambulance?" I asked, stating the obvious. Stiles just shrugged.

"Who was it?" Scott questioned.

"Your fucking boss!" I squealed. "And he was all cheery and fine!"

Stiles and Scott exchanged looks, looking as confused as I felt.

"Nothing makes sense anymore!" Scott groaned, clasping his hands over the back of his head.

"Tell me about it." Stiles muttered. I tried to catch Stiles' eye but he seemed to be oblivious to it.

"What happened to you, Scott?" I spoke up in a quiet voice, glancing around at the others to make sure no one was listening in. "The Alpha just growled and we were both on the floor and when I looked up you were all wolfy and heading somewhere with the keys."

Scott looked guilty and uncomfortable. "The Alpha...changed me."

"Into a wolf?" Stiles asked incredulously. Scott nodded, disgusted.

"I could feel him inside me. He was telling me to do things."

"Things like what?" I asked, not fully wanting to hear it.

"Like to get rid of my old pack." He muttered, staring at the ground.

"What old pack?" Stiles laughed humorlessly.

"You guys." Scott told us. "You." He nodded to Stiles, "Lydia, Jackson, and Alison."

"What about me?" I asked slowly.

"He wants you in the new pack. He wants me to kill my friends and change you..." None of us said anything for awhile. I sat down on the schools front steps. Scott and Stiles joined me, sitting on either side of me.

"Seriously, fuck life." I sighed, running a hand through my black hair. "That's our new motto."

"I'm gonna have to agree with Mason on this one." Scott leaned into my shoulder, sighing also.

Stiles stayed silent, a good foot away from us. It was like he was making sure he didn't touch me. I glanced over at him to see him staring out at the scene of cops and ambulances, deep in thought. Right now didn't seem like the best time to admit to him that I was in love with him because I was fearing the worst. I feared he regretted the kiss, so once again, I was going back into my hole and going to forget it happened. I was sure Stiles was in that hole, waiting for me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Oh shit. Things just got real. Again._

_Sorry for the delay. We got 3rd if that means anything? (: I guess I should give y'all a heads up that from the 13-16th I will be unable to update my stories. That's when dance state is so I will be away at state (hopefully winning it and coming back to do some serious brag-age). I'll probably remind you again in a week when it's closer. I just didn't want all your minds to explode when I suddenly disappeared off the face of the internet for three days. Thank goodness that this is prewritten or else you guys would probably getting an update a month like it's sequel on Mibba because I have zero time to write between school and dance. You lucky ducklings._

_Well, I hope you enjoyed my update into all things moi. Happy hunting._


	17. The Aftermath

"This is one of your worst ideas. _Ever_." I told Stiles, shaking my head in disgust at the bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. He shook it in my face to piss me off even more and then handed it to a sulking, heart broken Scott.

"C'mon, Scotty." He cooed. "When life goes to shit, get drunk."

Scott sighed sadly and looked blankly at the bottle of poison.

"Don't take it," I advised but Scott reached out and took a good few gulps of it. He wiped his mouth, handed it back to Stiles, and began to mope again.

Stiles took a long drink and offered it up to me. "You sure you don't want a drink, Mase?"

I shook my head resolutely, crossing my arms, and turning my back to him. I really didn't condone this kind of behavior, no matter how good of interests Stiles had at heart.

It had been a week since the incident at the school. The school had been cleaned up over the weekend and was closed on Monday. School resumed on Tuesday but Scott, Stiles, Alison, Lydia, Jackson, and I had been given a week off after the events that had taken place. I spent the week locked in my house by my father who I was becoming increasingly suspicious of as time went on. He knew about werewolves, I could just tell. He was so freaked out when Sheriff Stilinski told him that I had been attacked by Derek that he smuggled me back home without another word to anyone and basically put me on house arrest. I didn't protest.

After all that went down, after kissing Stiles and trying to forget about it, after Scott revealed that the Alpha wanted Scott to kill his friends and be the one to change me, and after having another too-close call with the Alpha, I wanted some alone time to think things over.

Things kind of fell to shit that night. After a week a solitude, I was really starting to see how bad we really had it. Alison broke up with Scott that night, saying she couldn't trust him anymore because he locked them in the room.

Stiles and I hadn't talked once about the kiss. In fact, I was surprised I was even invited to come out here because Stiles hadn't texted me once until tonight. I couldn't put all the blame on him, though. I just sat in my room, cursing myself for kissing him in the first place. I don't know why I even did it, I know that Stiles has, and always will be, in love with Lydia Martin.

I sat there, transfixed on the moon. The full moon was in about two weeks. I stared at it, wishing we didn't have to go back to school tomorrow. If it was up to my dad, I would probably be home schooled the rest of my life, but I needed to be around people. Sitting alone in my room, moping like Scott, wasn't healthy.

I could hear Stiles singing some song he was making up as he went along. He was already drunk. Unbelievable.

"Scott, you should consider yourself lucky," Stiles slurred. I considered Stiles lucky that he could still keep his eyes open and speak knowledgeable sentences.

Scott merely looked at his friend, not seeing how his condition could be lucky in the slightest.

"I mean, you've loved and been loved! Some of us have never had that." He stood up suddenly, waving his hands wildly in the air as if it emphasized his point. "Alison was your first love and now that you've experienced _that_, you can move on and find more loves and eventually you'll find the love of your life and settle down and have a few wolf cubs of your own!"

"But I don't want anyone else but Alison." Scott said grumpily. Stiles sighed exasperatedly and placed a hand on Scott's shoulder.

"Scott, Scott, Scott," He shook his head comically. "I know I'm not the best person to talk to you about this cause I've never been in love or had a girlfriend—"

"Or have _any _experience with girls, whatsoever..." I added, tilting my head to look at the boys. Stiles laughed loudly and then put on a straight face again.

"Anyways, Scott, bottom line is: You'll get over her!" He cried, taking another swig of Jack, some of it dribbled down his chin and I could help but think (even in his drunken state) Stiles was adorable and that pissed me off. Why couldn't he be fat and have a terrible personality? It would be much easier to hate him and get over him.

Scott shoved Stiles' hand off him, his dark eyes brimming with gold. "But I don't _want_ to get over her! I want to get her _back_!"

"I'll talk to her." I offered. Alison and I were good friends. She, at least, had bothered to call me in this week hiatus from the world.

"Would you?" Scott brightened up, a sappy smile on his face.

"I'll talk, but I can't promise she'll listen." I told him. He shouldn't get his hopes up. "The best thing is to just give her time."

"See," Stiles slurped some more alcohol, throwing an arm over each of us, spilling some Jack Daniels on me, "I _told _you this would work out! Getting drunk solves everything!"

"Why did we agree to do this?" Scott questioned me, setting the wasted Stiles on a rock.

"Fuck if I know," I smiled slightly, "I just agreed to get outta the house."

"How's the house arrest going?" Stiles asked loudly.

"Awesome. It's really shown me who my true friends are because they're the ones who call and make sure I'm doing okay." I narrowed my eyes pointedly at him.

"Who?" Stiles looked around, "Me?"

"No," I laughed coldly, "The guys behind you..." I pointed behind him and let out a scream. There were people coming up from the forest behind us. Two men, an evil glint in their eyes as they eyed me and the bottle in Stiles' hand. They looked like they were up to no good in their ratty clothes and smirking faces.

"Hey cutie," The taller of the two barked, "Hows about you get your little boyfriend to give us the drink and come party with the big boys?"

I felt nauseous. This thirty-something-year-old was hitting on a high schooler. Things don't get more pathetic than that.

The short, fat man grabbed Stiles' drink and took a swig. "Hey!" Stiles' protested, his words slurred worse than ever.

"Come on, sweet cheeks, we'll show you a good time," He winked and make a rude hand gesture. That set Scott off. He got right in their faces and demanded the bottle back.

"Aw, yeah? And whattaya gonna do about it if we don't?" The tall man cackled along with his friend. Scott let out a deep growl, clenching his fists as his eyes began to turn gold.

"Scott," I walked swiftly up to him and grabbed onto his arm, "It's just a Jack Daniels. It doesn't matter."

Scott let out another more menacing growl. These guys picked a bad night to start a fight with Scott. This break up was making Scott more irritable and unstable when it came to phasing.

The men exchanged frightened looks as I snatched the bottle back. Scott grabbed it from me and chucked it at the tree by their heads raining shattered glass shards over them. They glared at Scott but did nothing else. I pushed Scott's shoulder to lead him away. Just as I turned my back, the short man smacked my butt.

I let out a horrified gasp and this seemed to wake Stiles' from his drunken state.

"Hey, dude! What the hell?" He shouted, his eyes alight with fury. Scott, however, was more of an actions man and punched the guy in the face, halting their obnoxious laughter.

"Scott, lets just go," I begged, feeling unsafe. Scott was heaving in deep breaths, trying to calm himself. I grabbed his hand and tore him away, expecting Stiles' to follow.

"Oi! You fucker! Leave the little treat with me and we'll call this even little boy," The drunk man chortled. I heard something crack and then a high pitch yelp. I shot around to see Stiles' nursing his hand, which was slightly bloody and clenched.

"Stiles!" I breathed, shocked. I glanced down at the man who was saying vulgar things to me, and he was clenching his nose, tears streaming down his face as he howled in pain. "Did you just hit him?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

"That was a rhetorical question!" I scolded as the two men scrambled up and left without another word. I looked back at Stiles and felt it better to contain the urge to kiss him this time.

"I think we better get him home before he gets in a gang fight, or something." Scott muttered, just as shocked as I was.

* * *

><p>Shockingly, Stiles was at my house at seven. Even more of a shock, it was in the Sheriff police car. I walked apprehensively up to it.<p>

"My dad set you up to this, didn't he?" I questioned, feeling slightly peeved. His over-protectiveness was getting a little out of hand.

Sheriff Stilinski reached over his son and pushed open the car door.

"What Mayor Mayfield wants, he gets. You've got police protection to get to school until your dad sees fit to let Stiles just take you." I sent him a look that clearly said, 'you've got to be kidding me?'. He chuckled and beckoned me in. I squished in awkwardly next to Stiles, who was staring out the window. I was practically sitting in his lap as he shifted his arm to get more comfortable. Just my luck.

We spent the whole ride in silence and when we shuffled out of the car, my blush deepened as I noticed the packed front pavilion was staring and whispering at us.

"Thanks, Mr. Stilinski," I sent him what I hoped was a thankful smiled and then ran to catch up with Stiles.

"Mason!" Another familiar voice called. I glanced around Stiles to see Alison beckoning me over to her, and to my annoyance, Lydia.

"I'll see you later," I muttered but Stiles didn't seem to be listening. He was staring at Lydia again. And I had thought we were over this.

I trudged over to the girls and put on a smile.

"Hey," I readjusted my backpack over my shoulders.

"How have you been?" Lydia asked, catching me off guard.

"Fine..." I stuttered, giving her a weird look.

"Lydia has something she wants to tell you," Alison nudged said girl lightly.

"I'm sorry for how I've been treating you and I would like to be friends," She sighed, looking up at the sky.

"Wow, so heartfelt it must be true." I said sarcastically.

"Lydia and I had a talk this past week and she wants to put whatever bad blood you guys have between you and learn to be friends." Alison smiled.

Lydia nodded but didn't seem too thrilled.

"Okay." I said.

"O-okay?" Lydia furrowed her brows, glancing back at Alison. "You want to be friends?"

"Why not?" I shrugged. I wasn't sure what Lydia was getting at by doing this, but I was officially done with high school drama. My best friend was a werewolf and the other one I was madly in love with. One of my good friends just broke up and my werewolf best friend and I wasn't sure if that made things better or worse. Sufficient to say, I was over what ever this was with Lydia.

"Good." Lydia smiled sweetly and Alison hugged us both.

"Yay!" She laughed. We headed into school.

"On a more interesting note," Lydia started, "What are you wearing to the Homecoming dance?"

"I'm not going." Alison sighed sadly, sneaking a glance to where Scott and Stiles were, who happened to be staring at us. Alison shook her head, upset, and mumbled something about getting a good testing seat. The SAT's had been moved til today, for reasons only known to us.

"Whatever," Lydia shrugged and turned to me, "What about you, Mason?"

"Uh, to be honest, I had totally forgotten about the dance." I confessed, tossing books into my locker.

"You can't be serious!" Lydia laughed, which was disconcerting all to itself. It was mind blowing that Lydia and I were having a conversation. A civil conversation. Just to ourselves. "You're going, it's already been decided. Whether Alison decides to get over Scott and find a new date or to forgive him and take him, it doesn't matter because we're all going."

"Whatever you say," I laughed slightly, privately thinking that the only person I wanted to go with would do anything to take this perky red head.

"So this means you haven't been dress shopping?"

"Not even a blimp on my thought radar." I said truthfully as we headed off to homeroom.

"Alison, me, and you are going today after cheer. I've already got mine, since the dance is _next Friday_." She reminded me sternly. I nodded, agreeing just to finish this dance talk. I didn't want to go but since Lydia had decided to be friends, I wasn't going to get out of it.

The bell rang, scaring Lydia and I half to death. I guess we were still on our guard from last Friday. We laughed awkwardly and took seats next to each other and behind Alison.

Jackson strutted into the room, five minutes late, and took the seat next to Alison.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. Lydia was too busy redoing her make up to notice how close Jackson was sitting next to Alison or the lust that was in his eyes. She nodded, flashing an appreciative smile and the test started a few seconds later.

"I'll let you know when the next subject begins. You have thirty minutes for this section. _No talking_. I'll take your test away and you'll have a real fun time getting into college without your SAT scores and cheating on your permanent record." Ms. Gunderson, our stern homeroom teacher declared and took her seat at her desk, surveying the class like a hawk, expecting us all to randomly start asking each other for answers.

I was three-fourths the way done when I noticed Scott was struggling to focus and breath calmly. I glanced over at him so see Stiles' face was in full panic mode. He was kicking his chair, trying to distract him from what he was glaring hatefully at. I followed his gaze to see Jackson smiling flirtatiously at Alison who smiled back, but hers was just an innocent smile.

I cleared my throat and Scott's concentration went to me.

_'Calm yourself!'_ I mouthed. He glared at me and accidentally snapped his pencil in his hand. He shot up, leaving his bag and test where they sat, and bolted from the room. Alison watched worriedly after him. Stiles looked around in alarm and just as he caught my eye, as I made to go after him, he got up, grabbing his and Scott's stuff and ran from the room. Ms. Gunderson looked so off-put that she didn't know whether to yell after them, or faint over a test not being finished.

I sat through the rest of the test, worrying constantly on whether Scott had phased out in the hall or if Stiles had been able to calm him down. After what felt, like, twenty-years, the test finished and I hurriedly got all my stuff together and made for the door.

"Remember, dress shopping after cheer!" Lydia called after me.

"Uh huh," I said distractedly and chased after where my best friends had been, an hour previously.


	18. The Pack

I never found the guys and since no one returned my texts, I was forced to go dress shopping with Lydia and Allison. I wasn't the only one who didn't seem totally thrilled with the upcoming dance.

"Was Scott okay?" Allison asked with the air of someone who was trying not to care, but was failing miserably.

"Don't know," I shrugged, feeling quite annoyed with my supposed best friends, "I haven't seen them since the SAT's."

"Oh..." Was all she said before turning back around. Lydia looked at Alison with her mouth wide open.

"Oh, _come on_, Allison!" She laughed, "Will you just admit that you want to get back together with Scott?"

"I told you, Lydia. It's not that simple." The brunette sighed, setting her head back on her head rest.

"Why not?" I pushed. Allison groaned and glanced out the window.

"After you guys left, things got weird. Stiles was beside himself with worry just when we all needed his bad jokes and then Jackson fell screaming to the ground, clutching his neck." She explained, Lydia grimaced remembering too.

"Wait—what?" I breathed. "What was wrong with him?"

"I guess he got scratched by something and it was just hurting him for some reason." Lydia shrugged, but she seemed a little worried, if that was something Lydia was capable of being.

"They were weird," Allison went on, "He covered them up and wouldn't let anyone see them or tell us what happened but from what I could see is that it was a little 'X'."

"And he didn't tell you how or when he got them?" I questioned.

"No. And you would think he would tell me since I'm his girlfriend after all but _no_. I'm pretty sure he's had them since that night he got attacked by that wild animal at the video store." Lydia said, pulling into a parking spot at the Mayfield Mall.

That was the same night I got scratched by the Alpha, too...

"We're here!" Lydia chided, shutting her car. "Anyway, Allison, just give Scott another try, or I might sneak in on that nice piece of—"

"Lydia!" I couldn't but laugh at her inappropriateness or the look of shock on Allison's face.

"He locked us in there for Derek to get us." Allison mumbled, looking close to tears. "If that even _was _Derek, which is another reason I can't take him back, no matter how many times he calls or texts."

"But it _was _Derek." I lied, "I was there when it started, it was definitely Derek."

"Then what was that thing in the hall? Unless Derek can turn into some—some sort of animal—then it couldn't..." Lydia trailed off, laughing nervously. Allison seemed to be deeply considering this out put.

"Oh, come on, Allison! It was a _joke_! People don't just turn into dogs or cats!" Lydia chortled, heading into our first dress destination.

"I'm still not convinced," Allison sighed, picking through colorful dresses.

"Trust me, Allison. Everything Scott did was to make sure you were safe." I promised.

"What about me?" Lydia whined, causing Allison and I to stare blankly at her.

"That's what Jackson was there for." Allison laughed as Lydia handed her and I a handful of dresses and pushed us towards the dressing rooms.

"Maybe the dance is too soon to reconcile with Scott, but he loves you and _really _misses you. I know you feel the same and maybe once you guys talk, you can work this out. You guys are my best friends, I don't wanna see things fall apart between you." I said earnestly. Allison sniffed and smiled appreciatively, locking herself in a dressing room. Lydia pushed me inside mine.

"Enough about Allison's love life," I heard Lydia call over the doors, "What about that kiss with Stiles?" I dropped the dresses I was holding.

As I scurried to pick them all up, I called, "What do you mean?"

I could hear Allison and Lydia giggling. "Allison told me that your madly in love with him."

"Allison!" I cried, "You promised you wouldn't tell _anyone _until I told Stiles!"

"Well, you kissed him and ran off with Scott, leaving him there all confounded and Lydia and Jackson confused even more about what was happening so I had to say something!" Allison called defensively. I torn my shirt and jeans off, getting ready to put my first dress on when I noticed something in the mirror.

"What did you say? And I hope to God for your sake that Stiles didn't over hear you!" I said distractedly, turning my back to the mirror and stifling a gasp. Smack dab in the middle of my back where the Alpha had scratched me was a huge 'X'. Just like the one on Jackson's neck.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled, scrutinizing my unhealed wound. It had been a month since that night and neither of our cuts had healed. Was this what it meant to be marked? Did that mean Jackson was marked too?

"—And she won't tell anyone! She wants to help get you!" I heard the end of Allison's little spiel. Without really knowing what I was saying, or agreeing to, I said, "O-okay, sounds great!"

Lydia and Allison squealed in delight.

"I'll talk to him for you." Lydia offered.

"Y-yeah. Awesome." I said, hurriedly putting on a dress to show the others.

"Okay, come out girlies!" Lydia demanded.

Without looking at myself, I opened the door and stood out in the bright lights of the dressing rooms.

Lydia clasped her hands over her face, "Oh, my God! You look _amazing_!"

"Wow, and this is just the first dress," I joked, feeling awkward with them staring at me.

"It's gorgeous and it will look even better with Stiles on your arm." Allison winked, adjusting her dress. It was a bright yellow color that didn't suit her well. "As for me, this is definitely not my dress."

"Absolutely not," Lydia agreed, scrunching up her face to look at it, "Next!"

Allison and I turned back into our respective rooms and shut the door. I took this opportunity to take in the dress. It was a pretty, pale purple that cut off a few inches above my knee. It was a little low cut than what I would usually wear, but for one night, I decided it could be me. It was flowy and I felt pretty in it. If I was going to have to go to this dumb dance, I might as well feel good about myself.

I took the dress off and slid my clothes back on, trying not to look at my back, and then picked up the rest of the dresses and set them outside on the rack.

"You getting the purple one?" Lydia asked knowingly. I nodded as I held it closer to me. "Good choice. Even if Stiles won't go to the dance with you, plenty of hotter guys will wanna get with you."

I didn't know if that was something I wanted but I didn't argue. The few hours we spent together were (and I couldn't totally believe this myself) actually not bad. Allison was right, Lydia was good when it came to advice on love and fashion, even if it was a little sexist and crude.

We left the mall with Allison's and I's complete Homecoming outfits. Allison bought herself and beautiful, sleek emerald cocktail dress and black pumps to match. Lydia bullied me into buying my first pair of heels: four inch white pumps. They made my legs look longer but just trying them on made my feet ache.

Lydia made the plan for Homecoming. Allison and I would go to Lydia's early on Saturday to all get ready together. Our dates (assuming Allison and I got some by then) would show up at five for pictures and then we would head out to some fancy restaurant for dinner. Then we would reach our final destination: the dance.

I agreed to everything Lydia had in store for us, mostly because it gave me something to think about other then Scott and my crumbling relationship with Stiles.

* * *

><p>Lydia and Allison dropped me off after dusk, and I walked into a deserted house. All the lights were still off and my dad's Mercedes wasn't in the driveway. I found it odd that he would make me have a police escort to school but didn't bother to lock the doors and be home waiting for me.<p>

I closed my bed room door, set my bags in my closet and turned on the light.

"Mason," A gruff voice commented. I was so frightened that I choked on my scream and fell slightly into the wall. Sitting on my bed, surrounded by Scott and Stiles, was none other than Derek Hale.

"Y-you're—you're alive?" I coughed, rubbing my eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving me.

"He's alive," Scott said, understanding my confusion.

"And Scott blamed you for what happened at the school..."

Derek glared at the two boys and nodded curtly.

"Hey! You two went along with it!" Scott defended.

"Besides, dude," Stiles piped in, "We thought you were dead!"

"Well, I'm not, and now I'm in deep shit, thanks to you three." Derek growled, his eyes flashing bright blue for a second. He shot up, wincing and turned to look out the window, hold his chest tenderly.

"Are you okay?" I asked timidly, he looked at me from the corner of his eye, grunting his reply.

"Fine."

I glanced over at Scott to fill in the blanks. "It's great and all that you're alive and relatively well, but I'm not sure how well my dad's going to take it when he finds out the most wanted man in Mayfield is hanging out in my room. Not to mention he's a werewolf."

"I lost control a little during the SAT's and when I ran out, Stiles followed me into the forest and we ran into Derek during a high speed car chase between the hunters, the police, and Derek. He figured we had something to do with it and he dragged us into it with him." Scott informed me. I took in a deep breath, shaking my head.

"We told him about what happened after the Alpha attacked him. About everything from the janitors death to you somehow channeling the Alpha's possession over Scott." Stiles continued, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," I laughed humorlessly, "The Alpha's _what_?"

Derek crossed him arms, and faced me in my dimly lit room, "Those scratched on your back weren't an accident. Do you remember when I told you that you had been marked?"

I nodded.

"Well, I was only guessing, more hoping I was wrong," He went on, "But now the Alpha has officially marked you, and apparently your annoying lacrosse friend—"

"Jackson?" Stiles asked, his voice was an octave higher than usual. "You forgot to mention this part earlier."

"Yeah, well, we were a little preoccupied, don't you think?" Derek shot back, wincing again.

"Really, Derek, are you _sure _your okay?" I asked again.

"The Alpha's attack to another wolf is a little like wolf's bane. It takes longer to heal." He said tiredly.

"Oh," I said lamely.

"Anyway, since the Alpha has officially marked you, I think it's time you all learned something about a wolf's pack." He didn't remotely sound like he wanted to be speaking to us about this. "There are usually five to a pack: The Leader, The Fighter, The Scout, The Punisher, and The Seducer. The Alpha can add more to his pack if, and when, he pleases, but they will be disposable. The Leader is obviously the Alpha. Scott's The Scout, I'm The Fighter, and I'm assuming that Jackson is supposed to be The Punisher—"

"That leaves—" I started but was cut off by Derek.

"The Seducer, which will be your job." He nodded again.

"Wait, I thought you were going to protect me!" I cried, jolting upward in shock. "You promised that as long as you worked together, he wouldn't be able to touch me! What the hell is this? Did you guys just decide you were tired of protecting me and decided I'm going to join his pack?" I spat, tears building up in my eyes as I glared at the three people in front of me.

Scott came over, setting me on my bed, "No! Of course not! Derek just has a terrible way of explaining things!"

"I just want you to be aware of whats coming. In case we can't prevent it..."

"But we will!" Stiles assured me.

"We'll try our best." Derek said.

"Not helping!" Scott yelled at the oldest wolf. I was trying to breath and remain calm but it wasn't going so well. I knew that I was a goner. The Alpha was just too powerful and with Derek hurt and Scott's mind stuck on Allison, there was no one to stop him. I had given up. I had half a mind to call the Alpha to my room so he could change me now instead of fucking with my mind, but then I remembered the sick little twist the Alpha had to this all.

"Scott's the one who'll change me?" I croaked.

"The Scout is usually the one who find possible recruits if the pack doesn't have a Seducer yet. If the Alpha is satisfied with them, The Scout's job is to change them." Derek interjected.

"But I wont!" Scott reassured me hurriedly. "I promise I won't bite you or touch you near the full moon—"

"Or ever!" Stiles put in, "You are off limits from touching Mason, as of now." And he pushed his way between Scott and I on my bed.

"You can't promise me that." I said quietly, feeling too afraid to blush over the over protectiveness of Stiles or that he was sitting so close I could feel his body heat radiating off of him.

Scott looked at me helplessly, "Why not?"

"Because if you don't do it willingly before the full moon, the Alpha'll make sure you do it under his command." Derek muttered, glancing out at the bright, yet somehow sinister, moon.


	19. An Evening With Derek Hale

I sat in the busy cafeteria, snuggly in between Stiles and Scott, the way it had been for the better part of the past three days. I felt like I hadn't been out of their sight since waking up Monday morning to Stiles "making" me breakfast. In reality he poured a bowl of cereal and made coffee, but the gesture was still sweet. It had gotten less sweet as the hours droned on. Scott threatened to go to the bathroom with me after lunch that day and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere without their knowledge and then they were still going to invite themselves along anyway. Today they both had lacrosse practice so I was finally going to get some peace and quiet. I sighed with relief as I glanced at the clock. Only two more hours and I would get some quality alone time.

The school was buzzing with the upcoming dance. Everywhere I went, kids were discussing what they were going to wear, who they were going with, or if they were going to get lucky that night. I still had yet to find a date and Scott had yet to get the courage to ask Alison, though they had finally worked up to being friends again. Going stag seemed like a pretty inviting aspect when I compared it to asking Stiles to the dance. I had managed to spend the last seventy-two hours with him and we hadn't so much as talked about that night, about the kiss. Every time I glanced into his big brown eyes, I wanted to scream, _'How stupid could you possibly be? Just tell me how you feel and ask me out already!'_ But some how, I contained myself. The dance was this weekend and if I wanted to get Stiles as a date, I needed to get a move on.

"I need to go to class, if that's alright with you guys." I said smartly, acknowledging the bell. Stiles and Scott hopped up from the bench, releasing me.

"Let's go." Scott nodded, glancing around nervously.

"Scott, honestly, do you think the Alpha is gonna barge in here and hypnotize you into biting me?" I sighed, weaving a hand through my hair.

"We're not taking any chances, Mason!" Stiles argued and proceeded to push me out the double doors into the hall. I swiped his hands off my back and glared at them both.

"I can _not_ wait until you guys have lacrosse." I muttered, blowing a stray piece of hair out of my face.

"Oh, you don't think we're going to leave you alone, do you?" Scott chuckled. I looked at them shocked.

_"What?"_ I said quickly.

"Against my better judgment," Stiles sighed, crossing his arms resolutely. He looked like what he was saying was paining him, "We're leaving you with Derek."

I blinked, staring blankly at them, "I'm not a child who needs to be babysat."

"Mase, we know," Scott agreed.

"It's just a precaution until we get through this full moon," Stiles added.

"Don't you think that keeping Scott glued to my side day in and day out is going to just give him an open to change me?" Scott looked ashamed and looked away. "I'm just saying that maybe a little time away would be a little safer. For me."

"Well, Derek isn't dangerous so you'll be safe with him." Scott said in a small voice. I felt guilty but I was at my breaking point and there was a gaping hole in their plan as it got closer to the full moon.

"I wouldn't say he's not totally dangerous," Stiles scrunched up his face in disapproval. It was no secret that Stiles was terrified of Derek. "But we've got no other options, so _please_ just do this for us so we can get through practice without worrying ourselves sick about your well being."

I threw my head back and let out an exasperated sigh. I knew that I was safe with Derek. I was probably safer with Derek than being around Scott so much with only Stiles to protect me if he were to be controlled by the Alpha or lost control himself.

"Fine."

"Yes!" Scott and Stiles said in unison.

Jumping up and down as he and Scott ran off to PE, Stiles shouted, "Meet us at my jeep after school. We'll take you!"

I nodded and trotted off towards my locker. I swapped a few books out and hoisted my bag over my shoulders again. I could hear raised voices coming closer towards me. I slammed my locker hard to make my presence known since this was probably a private conversation. The voices seemed to ignore me and a few seconds later Lydia and Jackson rounded the corner.

"I don't understand what you're even talking about." Lydia seethed. "We're not having this conversation, Jackson."

"We are and we're done, Lydia. I need to get ready for some changes I'm about to make, and for that to happen I need to drop some of the dead weight in my life." Jackson smiled sweetly at Lydia who looked like someone had just smacked her over the head.

"What are you saying?" This was the most vulnerable I'd ever heard her.

"I'm saying, Lydia Martin, you're gonna need to find a new date to Homecoming." He smirked and the next second I knew, they both noticed me standing there, frozen in shock.

Jackson strutted forward, his eyes set on me as he ignored the bewildered Lydia. "Hey, Mason, I need to talk to you about something." I glanced back at Lydia who glared at me, her face was red and livid.

"Uh—I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now…" I cleared my throat, shifting awkwardly.

"Are you breaking up with me for _her_?" Lydia screeched. I was seriously at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Ignore her, let's walk." Jackson grinned, grabbing my arm and setting off down the hall. I was too stunned to react.

"Don't you want to go back to Lydia and work this out?" I suggested as we neared the doors. "I kinda need to get to class."

"No, you don't. You have a free period right now, just like I do."

"Well, that thing—with Lydia—you guys just—what just happened?" I stuttered.

He chuckled as he pushed open the double doors, leading off to the lacrosse field.

"We just…aren't compatible anymore." He cocked his head to the side as he smiled at me.

"What is this about then?" I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Scott."

That took me by surprise. I let out a small chuckle. "What?"

"I know what he is."

"I'm not following." I shook my head. He couldn't _know_.

_"I know what Scott is."_ He emphasized.

"So do I. He's a teenage boy, plays lacrosse, is madly in love with Alison—" I played dumb.

"—And is also a werewolf."

I choked on my breath. "What? Scott's a what? Were—no, there's no such things as were—" I was pulling a Stiles, mumbling on when he obviously knew that I clearly knew what Scott was.

"Come on, Mase. You're his best friend. You're always with him. I know you know." Jackson brushed his hand over my arm.

"If you're trying to seduce me into giving you something, try again." I said.

"You were always the smart one in our class." He chuckled.

"I don't have to be smart to know your turning up that rich boy charm to get what you want." I snorted.

His eyes narrowed slightly. He chortled, shaking his head. "I want whatever he got to be who he is. I knew there was _no_ way he could suddenly be that good at lacrosse. I thought it was steroids at first but now it all makes sense. The glove, the strength, he never uses that inhaler he used all last year, the nail I found, the wolf's bane._ It all makes sense now_."

"You only know part of the picture." I said. "There is so much more going on that your self-righteous brain couldn't handle. You don't want this, Jackson. The power isn't worth it. You'll only get yourself killed."

His gray eyes glared at me through angry slits, "I think I can handle it."

"Do you think you know everything?" I questioned. "Do you think you've got this all figured out?"

"Pretty much." He said haughtily.

"Well, I hate to burst your little bubble," I laughed humorlessly, "But you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Why don't you blow my mind and let me in on this secret world of yours?" He demanded.

"Why don't you fuck off and mind your own business?" I retorted. He pushed me up against the tree behind me.

"I don't care what it takes to become one, a bite, magic fairy dust. Just tell Scott I want it or I'll make life _very_ difficult for him." He threatened.

"Oh, so you haven't even been trying?" I said sarcastically, shoving him off.

He smirked, leaning in close to my ear, "Tell Scott he's got three days to give me what I want." He started backing off. The bell had rung but I missed it. Kids were piling outside, hopping into cars or buses as the school day had come to an end.

I watched Jackson walk off with his dumb swagger like he just won the lottery. My eyes traveled around the landscape. I saw Lydia standing, her arms crossed and her face unreadable as she looked at me. That evil smile spread across her face that I hadn't seen awhile.

_'There goes _that_ short lived friendship.'_ I thought to myself. I pushed myself off the tree trunk and sped off to where Stiles' jeep had been parked this morning. Stiles was leaning against his jeep, staring at me with a strange expression on his face.

Once I reached his jeep, I asked, "Where's Scott?"

"He had to stay after to talk to our coach." He grunted. He was glaring at me. Why was Stiles glaring at me?

"Okay, so what's up with you?" He was about to answer when someone came up behind him and covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" Lydia flirted.

Stiles turned around stunned. "Ly—Lydia?"

"Yep," She smiled, playing with her hair, "So there's this dance on Saturday…"

Stiles looked shocked; he rubbed his hands over her hair, fidgeting around in Lydia's presence.

"Stiles, don't you have to take me somewhere?" I spoke up, fearing where this conversation was going.

"Lydia's speaking, Mason." He shushed me. "I'll take you in a second. What were you saying?" He turned his attention back to the Devil. My jaw dropped and Lydia smirked at me.

_That bitch_. She _knew_ how I felt about Stiles. I should have known that this was all a stupid act to hurt me. She never wanted to be friends, she wanted inside information on my life to make it even more miserable. Now that Jackson had broken up with her, she somehow blamed it all on me because she can't comprehend what a horrible person she is, all the way to her core.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to Homecoming with me?" She asked, already knowing he'd agree. He stared at her, drool practically falling out of his mouth. I could swear he glanced back at me for a fraction of a second.

"Stiles?" She said impatiently.

"What—Oh yea—Yes! I'd love to!" He laughed, nodding his head. I felt like I had just been stabbed in the back and heart, multiple times. I could feel my eyes burning but I blinked them away as I pinched my arm, trying to focus on that pain instead of my heart's.

I watched Lydia hand Stiles back his phone, undressing Stiles with her evil eyes. "Text me. I'm having a little get-together at my house before the dance. Just you, me, Alison, and whoever she brings." She glanced at me, laughing silently at me. I guess I was officially uninvited. She reached up and kissed him.

I took in a deep intake of breath, looking away at the jeep.

"I can't wait." She whispered seductively. I swear he moaned a little into the kiss. And with that, she skipped off, probably feeling victorious. Stiles stared after her for a few moments before he remembered I was standing there.

"I thought you were over her." I said in a thick voice. "I thought she wasn't what you wanted."

"I guess I was just confused." He looked at me, a ghost of a smirk on his face. I didn't know what to say. It was like he was deliberately hurting me and I had no idea what I had done. We just stood there, staring at each other without saying a word.

"I need to get you to Derek's." I sniffed and got in his jeep. I didn't speak to him the whole car ride and got out without another word. I stalked off towards Derek's burned down house when Stiles finally spoke up.

"Is your boyfriend Jackson picking you up?" I wheeled around, glaring incredulously. His face had a stony expression on it but his eyes were angry and hurt.

"Yeah, and we'll have hot, steamy sex afterwards." I fired back, that crazed anger that had come over me that night at school was back. He swallowed and pulled his car into reverse, speeding off. _"Go fuck yourself, Stiles!"_ I screamed after his retreating jeep.

I took in a deep breath and turned to face the decrepit house. Derek was standing in his usual dark attire with his hands buried in his pockets. It would have scared me that he just was standing there without making a sound, but I was starting to get used to this popping-up-out-of-nowhere stuff.

"You don't have to babysit me." I said defiantly.

"I don't think you need to be babysat." He agreed.

"So, can you just take me home?"

"No," He said.

"Fine," I huffed, "I'll walk."

"No,"

"Then how am I supposed to get home?" I said shortly.

"I can't let you go home yet."

"I thought you said you didn't have to babysit me. I definitely know you don't want to. So why make me stay?" I growled.

"Because Scott begged me to do this and I need his help to get rid of the Alpha." He informed me.

I heaved a sigh and sat down on his porch, feeling powerless, angry, and upset.

"What does a Seducer do?" I asked, it had been on my mind ever since he'd told me about the pack but Scott and Stiles feigned deafness every time I asked about it.

"I told you what a Seducer does already." He grunted.

"You told me what Scott let you tell you. I wanted to know all the details," I argued. "no matter how gruesome. I need to know what I'm up against."

"The Seducer obviously seduces people for what ever purpose the Alpha has. Whether it's for the Alpha to change them or…for other purposes." He began.

"What—What purposes?" Hoping it was something innocent like gardening.

"Mating." He said regretfully.

"Of, course," I let out a hysterical laugh, "What else would a girl be used for but mating purposes? So basically what I'm looking forward to is being the Pack's sex slave?"

"It won't come to that and no. The Seducer doesn't sleep with the pack. Just the Fighter…" He said quickly.

"Who made up these sexist, sadistic rules? Satan?" I exclaimed, "Or does the pack just make these up as they go along? This is sick. I _feel_ sick."

"You wanted to know." He reminded me.

I nodded, "I know. I know. So, the Alpha is expecting _us_ to mate?"

He faltered before replying, "Yes…"

"Have little baby wolf cubs?"

He cleared his throat, looking away as if I was something indecent. "Yes."

"I need to sit." My head was spinning.

"You are sitting."

"Oh," I nodded, focusing on my breathing, "Good."

"I lied when I said the Scout is the one who's supposed to change you. The Scout is only supposed to find candidates for the Alpha to choose from and the Seducer lures them to the Alpha. The Alpha is the only one whose supposed to change someone but this Alpha is different. He's_ sick_ in the head which makes him even more dangerous and unpredictable. He _wants_ Scott to do it because he knows you guys are close and it'll change Scott, it'll hurt him to do it. He's going to condemn you to a life of solitude and that changes a person." He said sadly.

"I don't remember you being particularly outgoing when we were little." I joked slightly.

"Yeah, well, I was made for this life. I come from a family of werewolves. My mom was the Seducer and my dad was the Fighter. I've been a werewolf my whole life and I've been surrounded by them just as long."

I stayed silent for awhile. A million questions swarmed inside my head and I couldn't decide which one to ask first.

"Why did you lie to Scott?"

"Scott…" He thought for a bit, "He can't handle the whole truth right now. He needs to grow up. Fast. And he needs to learn that there won't be a happy ending for him and Alison. She's gonna be a hunter one day. It's a sappy; disgustingly cliché love story and it'll end disastrously. Werewolves can only be with Werewolves. It's how it works."

"That's depressing." I commented. He snorted, nodding in agreement.

"I've been living with this depressing truth since I was teenager."

"Love. Be afraid." I joked again. Shockingly, Derek cracked a smile.

"Pretty much."

We sat in silence again. I gazed out at the surrounding forest listening to the birds chirp around us.

Birds lived such simple lives. They could be with who they wanted to be with. They didn't have to worry about being turned into werewolves. They didn't have to worry about killing their friends or living alone their entire life. They didn't have to worry about mating with a guy four years older than them, when you were in love with someone else.

But maybe it wouldn't come to that. Maybe Derek and Scott and the hunters could miraculously come together with some cheesy fighting montage and defeat the Alpha. Maybe Stiles could finally realize how much happier he'd be with me then the soul sucking Devil herself and we'd live happily ever after because I wasn't fated to be with Derek. Maybe this was all a dream and I'd wake up and get ready for the first day of school without a werewolf for a best friend…

None of this was likely, but it was easier to dream about a better, simpler life, then to live in the dark fated one.

"You didn't tell Scott about the whole 'we-have-to-mate' thing, right? 'Cause Stiles and he would sooner lock me up forever then for us to…"

"Of course of didn't tell him!" He reassured me, "And nothings set in stone. Scott and I can stop the Alpha. You don't have to end up with a loner like me. We'd never be happy together."

I looked up at him, feeling my face heat up. His blue orbs locked in with mine and I felt…I felt that same desire I felt towards Stiles that night at the school. I was fighting to urge to stand up and kiss him and I couldn't comprehend what was happening to me. Could I slowly be turning into the Seducer? Because I was feeling the urge to seduce Derek Hale…

"How can you stand living here, Derek?" I questioned hurriedly, changing the subject to get my mind off how good looking I was suddenly finding Derek.

I glanced up at the charred house, practically hearing the screams of lost souls. I felt chills crawl up my spine as I buried my face in my hands, not trusting myself to look at Derek until the feelings had past. "I hate being here. Honestly, every time I'm here, I relive that night in my head and it tears me apart." I let out a shaky breath. "So how can you sit in your house, with all those memories of your family and not go fucking insane?" He didn't speak. I was half-expecting him to tell me to leave, or maybe hit me, but he took a seat next to me and stared at me.

I turned my head to face him. His bright blue eyes were squinting, as if they were taking me in. His eyes swam with more emotion than I'd ever seen him express.

"I live here because I'm safer and farther away from people. It's better that way." He said in a constricted sort of voice.

"Is it _really_ better that way? Being away from people? Isolating yourself from people who love you?" I muttered, wrapping my knees and placing my chin on them.

"Yes. For me." He grunted, "The people who loved me were murdered in that fire. And you're the only one who understands that."

"I do." I said without thinking, but somehow I did understand how he felt.

"What would you do if you found out who it was that took away everything you loved?" He asked quietly. His eyes were burning against the side of my face, begging me for the truth.

"I'd make them pay." I said truthfully, looking him straight in the eyes. "I'd make them hurt the way I've hurt for ten years."

"Good." He stood up suddenly, grabbing his keys from his pocket. "Let's go."

"Are you taking me home?" I hoped foolishly.

"No, I'm going to show you something that'll make sure you feel the same when the time comes." He opened the passenger seat for me. I nodded and sat in the leather seat. He shut the door and jumped over the hood, hopping in the driver's seat. The car rumbled to life and he sped off down the dirt road. It still had that new car smell and I pondered on whether he had stolen this car or not. He didn't have a job and he was a wanted fugitive. So, where was he getting the money for clothes, food, water, and electricity?

We drove in silence, though every once in awhile I could feel him glance over at me but when I looked over, his eyes were on the road.

We pulled up to Mayfield Long-Term Hospital. I glanced over at him, puzzled. He shut off the car and we both got out into the sunny world outside. I followed him into the hospital which was strangely empty, but I guessed that seeing as this was a hospital for no-hope patients, people stopped visiting their loved ones a long time ago.

The smell of bleach burned my nostrils and we walked down the lifeless halls. I felt like I was stuck in some clean maze, with endless halls and doors. It was starting to make me feel sick when he entered a room. I followed in suit.

The room was white, like every other room in the hospital. There was a metal hospital bed in the corner of the room with bland sheets on it. There were machines to monitor breathing and heart beats but other than a wooden chair facing the small window, the room was empty. There was a man in the chair. I would have thought he was dead except his heart monitor was beeping in a steady rhythm.

"Who—Who's he?" I said. The man seemed to be ignoring us, or maybe he couldn't hear us.

Derek glared painfully at the man and shoved the chair sideways so I could see the man properly. A weird mix between a scream and a gasp erupted from my throat as I clasped my hand over my mouth. Half of the brown hair on his head was missing while the rest of that side of his face was horribly disfigured with burns. His brown eyes were cold and dead as they stared at me, but didn't really see me.

"Was—Did he—Who?" I couldn't form a knowledgeable sentence. This was too much to handle.

"Meet my Uncle Peter." He laughed cruelly, "He was there that night of the fire, along with the rest of my family. Your mom wasn't supposed to be there that night. It was a last minute thing because my parents wanted to get us out of Mayfield. Werewolf hunters were onto us. We were having a farewell party during your mom's visit and they were all locked in the basement as they set fire to my house.

Every single person in my family was there except my sister, Laura. Every single one of them died except my Uncle here who's so brain dead that he might as well have died that night." He spat. "And now that you've seen what she's capable of, and how little she cares about what she did, will you help me kill her?"

"Kill who?" I croaked, tears streaming down my face.

"She feels no remorse for what she's done. If thousands have to die for the kill of one werewolf, it's all the same. She would kill your mother all over again if it meant that a lot of werewolves were killed! She deserves to die!"

"Who?" I sobbed, "Who is it?"

"Kate Argent." He said, disgusted with the name.

"Allison's aunt?" I sniffed, not believing my ears. She seemed a little off, but not like a-psycho-killer off.

He nodded gravely. "Will you help me kill her?"

I don't know what possessed me to say it or if it was that crazed anger bubbling inside me from this new found knowledge that my mother had been murdered because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time, or that my heart had just been broken by my best friend that I had been in love with for years, or possibly the raw truth that I was destined to be with Derek because of ancient pack rule bullshit. Either way, my voice was defiant and clear when I said, "Yes."


	20. The Ultimatum

"I _have_ to go to the dance!" Scott exclaimed, tossing things around his room frantically because he was late. Today was Friday, the day before Homecoming. Tonight was the Homecoming game, and also the quarter finals for lacrosse state. Stiles was playing his first game on first line and as mad at him as I was, I couldn't help but feel excited for him. Since Scott had become a werewolf, Stiles had been the funny sidekick, but tonight he would get a piece of the action. I just hoped he didn't fuck it up.

"You don't _have_ to go, Scott." I sighed, tossing my backpack on top his cluttered desk.

"You're right, I _need_ to go." He breathed a sigh of relief when we picked up the object he had been looking for: A single padded glove.

"You don't _need_ to go either. You _want_ to go because you wanna get Allison back and that's all fine and dandy, but Jackson's taking her and he knows you're wolfy secret so…"

"Don't remind me," Scott groaned, pushing his glove in his lacrosse bag with more force then necessary.

"And there's that minor detail that your not even_ allowed_ to go to the dance because your failing three classes." I reminded him. Scott rolled his eyes as he wrapped his lacrosse bags strap over his shoulder.

He pulled out his phone and called someone.

"Who're you calling?" I questioned.

"Stiles."

"You guys are speaking again? Did he get over the fact that his precious Lydia is a skank that kisses any good looking boy for attention?"

"You mean how Lydia and I made out yesterday before practice because I'm not acting like myself because of the full moon." He glared.

"Is that our excuse for stabbing our best friends in the back?" I asked sarcastically.

"I will beat you." He chuckled, "Hey, Stiles, any luck on that text?"

I sat in silence as Scott listened to Stiles' response.

"Okay—But—Yeah—I will—Just hurry!" He snapped his phone shut and placed it in his bag.

"What the word?" I questioned.

"Stiles and Derek are heading somewhere to find out more on who sent Allison that text that night."

_"Now?"_ I asked, not believing Stiles' terrible timing. "Stiles is starting tonight. He can't show up late with the most wanted person in the state!"

"Look who suddenly cares about Stiles again." Scott smirked, annoying me further.

"Yeah, well—you made out with Lydia!" I retorted lamely.

"Good one, buddy." He snorted, as we exited his room.

"Oh, shushski." I muttered, taking the stairs two at a time to keep up with Scott.

"That's a reason why _you_ should go to the dance." He offered.

"Why? So Lydia can rub the fact that she won Stiles in my face on the middle of the dance floor?" I said miserably.

"No, so you can tell him how you feel and make up."

"Somehow I don't think it's going to be that easy." I sighed as I waited patiently for him to lock up his house before we left for the big game. "And what in Gods name are Stiles _and_ Derek doing in the same car without one of us there to supervise? Derek's going to end up murdering Stiles before the night is through."

Scott barked a laugh as we jogged to his mom's car. "That seems likely. I guess Derek was hiding out at Stiles' house today 'cause the police are still looking for him. They were on his property this morning so he went to Stiles' for some reason."

"He thought the best place to hide out would be the Sheriff's son's room?" I asked incredulously. Scott shrugged.

"I'm just glad he didn't come to my house and test me or something." He quipped. I had to agree with him there. Derek lacked certain people skills. But somehow, I got him. He was protective of me and I understood him. He was kind of like a strange, awkward, overbearing brother I never had.

* * *

><p>Stiles didn't show up for the game. I sat in my seat, growing more agitated and worried as the night went on. Allison kept asking what was wrong but I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't even know where he was.<p>

I tried calling him a few thousand times but he didn't answer. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, Stiles, you big asshole. Where the _hell_ are you? I'm freaking out right now because no one seems to know the answer to that and if Derek hasn't murdered you already, _I_ will. But, _please_ call me back as soon as possible because God knows what it would take to make you miss your shot at first line." And I slammed my phone shut.

"No answer again?" Allison asked.

"I don't suppose his new _girlfriend_ has any idea where he is?" I spat, causing her to recoil.

"Hey, what Lydia did was a really terrible thing, but I had nothing to do with it! That's why I'm sitting here with you, not her." She said sympathetically. "And it's not the only terrible thing she's done this week." She mumbled something about being a skanky boyfriend kisser.

I sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm just really worried about that asshole." She chuckled, shaking her head.

"If only he could see what he makes you do, then he'd realize what a huge fool he was." She smiled warmly.

"Right," I snorted, _"Go Scott!"_

We turned our attention back to the game, which was almost over. It was tied with a minute left in the game. Allison and I cheered for Scott, though Allison blushed every time I looked pointedly at her for it.

Scott made an amazing save and passed it to Danny at the last second, who scored, winning the game.

"We're going to the semi-finals!" We screamed excitedly, jumping up and down together.

"Let's go congratulate Scott!" I drug her across the field and off to the locker rooms where everyone was heading.

As we pushed open the doors, the atmosphere was insane. People were cheering and screaming. Signs and lacrosse sticks were flying around and chants were being belted at the top of people's lungs.

_"State! State! State!"_ One heavy-set boy was calling through the crowd. I caught a glimpse of Scott asking the people around him something.

"I see Scott," I told her and we pushed through the sweaty, loud crowd until we reached him.

"Has anyone seen Stiles?" He called. Seeing me, he hurriedly came towards us. "Have you seen Stiles?"

I shook my head, feeling that worry erupt in my stomach once again.

"Hey, Scott," Allison smiled, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

Scott stood there stunned for a few seconds, "Allison. Hi." He breathed.

"You did really well tonight." She complimented shyly.

"Thanks, you too." I snorted again at his lameness. "I mean—no I didn't mean that—"

"Oh no, you can congratulate me. Mase and I were doing some pretty impressive cheering out there." She grinned.

He was just about to answer when that heavy-set boy got in between them and started yelling, _"State! State! State!"_

"Allison!" Mr. Argent appeared suddenly. "Time to go." Allison nodded and quickly hugged me before scurrying off.

_"State! State! State._ Sta…" The look on Scott's face shut him up. The boy slithered off to start a riot else where.

Scott looked around for Allison but she was already by the door. She waved good-bye and disappeared out into the night.

"You haven't heard from Stiles either?" He asked me, frantically looking behind me as if Stiles would pop up, laughing about how this was all just a big joke.

I shook my head no. We just looked at the ground, worrying whether our best friend was okay, or even alive.

* * *

><p>I was sitting in the steam filled locker room, waiting for Scott to get out of the shower. He was my ride home and Stiles and he still had that protocol of me not being by myself for more than five seconds.<p>

The shower shut off and a few seconds later, a towel-clad Scott walked out. I sat up on the bench as he shuffled through his locker and bag for his extra pair of clothes.

"I tried calling him again." I hit my head against the lockers behind me. He stopped rummaging through his stuff and glanced over at me. Worry written all over his face.

"Should we drive over to his house?" He offered.

I shook my head. If Stiles was home, he would be able to pick up his phone and call us.

"Maybe we should check out Derek's." He tried.

"Unless Derek's holding him hostage, Stiles wouldn't be there without being able to tell us what's going on." I shut that idea down too.

"What about—" What his next idea was, I didn't know because someone had shut off the power, alerting us that we were no longer alone.

"Scott…" I whispered urgently. He glanced at me quickly and started peering around the room.

"Scott McCall." A high, clear voice echoed from the darkness. Scott stepped in front of me so fast I didn't see who the voice came from. I saw Derek step out from the doorway, hands in his pockets, looking as stony as ever.

"Derek," I breathed a sigh of relief. Stiles was with Derek and if Derek was okay, Stiles was too. "Where's Stiles?"

"Hello again, Mason." That same voice smiled. I peaked from behind Scott to see a man who seemed familiar but I couldn't place where I'd seen him. He was wearing a long leather jacket and smiling creepily at me.

I squinted my eyes to get a better look at him and I felt too shocked to do anything. Standing before me was Derek's Uncle Peter. But he wasn't brain dead or burned beyond recognition anymore. He was whole and fully functioning.

"Derek, what's going on?" I asked, looking terrified at Derek. He didn't respond.

"She _is_ a very pretty girl, isn't she Derek?" Peter stepped forward, smirking at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as Scott pushed me back.

"He's the Alpha." Scott said in a feint voice after he put all the pieces together.

Peter smiled wider, nodding. "_Very_ good, Scott."

I stood there frozen in horror. Here the Alpha was, just standing in front of us with no one else around but Derek who seemed to not care about what was going on. The Alpha could just make Scott phase in a second and I would be a goner. The Alpha could also just as easily change me so my situation wasn't looking so good.

"And you're _helping_ him?" Scott cried, not believing what he was seeing. Derek merely shrugged. "Did you forget the part where he killed your sister?"

"It was an accident." He said in a dead sort of voice.

"People don't just _accidentally_ kill their nieces!" I laughed at the absurdity of this situation. Yesterday, Derek would have gladly asked me to help kill the Alpha, too, if he had known who it was. And now he was happily standing by while the Alpha closed in on Scott and I.

"These things happen." He uttered.

I shook my head in disbelief. Was Derek really that thick that he couldn't comprehend that Peter killed Laura Hale because he was a psychopathic murderer? I think the rising body count proved that for itself.

"What the _hell_, Derek?" Scott demanded, "So you're on _his_ side now?"

"There are no sides, Scott," Peter tilted his head, laughing slightly at the thought. "We're just talking. There's no need to be defensive. Why don't you stop suffocating Mason and let me get a better look at our future pack member." He bared his teeth in a menacing sort of grin.

Scott didn't budge.

"Now, now, we're all fellow wolves here," He wagged his finger at Scott, "Or we will be."

I let out a shaky breath, willing myself not to cry. "Did you hurt Stiles?"

I was scared out of my mind and somehow I was still finding the time to worry about Stiles. I was pathetically in love with that boy…

Peter shook his head, migrating to where Derek was standing so he was now in front of me. "I'm only hurting those who deserve it."

"Why do I deserve it?" My nostrils flared.

"I'm not going to hurt you either, Mason," He feigned surprise, "On the contrary, I'm going to give you a gift."

"I don't want it." I said stubbornly.

He chortled, "_Everyone_ wants it, Mason. It's all a matter of when they'll stop lying to themselves about it."

"What are you doing here? Come to watch me kill my friends and change Mason?" Scott seethed, "If so, I'm sorry to say you've wasted a trip from the hospital. I won't hurt my friends and I won't make Mason like me."

The Alpha looked away for a second as if he was pondering something and said, "I think you will. I think that under the circumstances, you_ will_ do it."

"What circumstances?" My curiosity got the better of me.

"Either you change Mason, or I'll kill her." I felt my stomach drop straight to the floor. Scott was paling in front of me, standing up straight and alert.

"I thought you said you wouldn't hurt me." I croaked.

"I changed my mind." He said lightly as if we were talking about the weather inside of murder. "You see, Mason. I'm doing things to hurt the people who are responsible for killing my family and leaving me burned and broken for years."

"I know that. I lost my mom in that fire, so don't preach to me about hurt. I think I understand that part." I said fiercely. He smiled gleefully at me.

"That's what would make you such a strong addition to my pack. You're tough and can handle yourself. I like that in a woman."

Scott was breathing heavily, trying to keep himself calm.

He sauntered up to me, looking down at me with a malicious grin, "If I change you or kill you (which would be _such_ a waste if I had to kill you), it will hurt someone who hurt me."

"Who?" I readied myself for the answer.

"Your father." He said simply.

I couldn't help myself. I started laughing hysterically. He was making no sense and I had taken on more stress than humanly possible.

"My dad had nothing to do with that fire!" I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He lost the only thing he really cared about that night! Why would he have started that fire?"

"Oh, no, no, _no_," Peter clucked his tongue in disapproval, "Dearest Mayor Mayfield didn't _start_ the fire. But he knows who did and he never brought his wife's killer to justice _all_ these year. He's let her leave town and live freely while everyone else tried to find the culprit…"

I just stood there feeling numb. Why would my father let my mother's killer walk? He was a politician, but he was also a law-abiding citizen. He considered littering a jail-worthy crime. He just let Kate Argent strut around town for the past month, chatted with her brother about me, and let her get away with murder ten years ago.

"No." My voice felt distant, like it wasn't even mine.

"How does that make you feel? Knowing your father let a mass murderer get away with everything that happened that night. Do you think he stays up at night, feeling any remorse for what he's done? Do you think he ever really even loved your mother at all?"

I could feel the hot tears drip down my face. My hands were shaking and I fell on the bench to my right. Soft sobs fell from my lips. How could my father let Kate go? If he had my mother's killer, why wouldn't he give her the death penalty or go after her himself? Maybe he never did love her. If Peter killed me, would he even bother to find out, or would he know and let him get away with it?

"Do you think that if I had to kill you, he'd even bother to come after me?" The Alpha thought aloud, smiling cruelly. "I'm not too sure. But, he _would_ have to do something if he found out that you were a werewolf, seeing as he's a hunter…" He looked at me expectantly.

Scott glanced wide-eyed at me. This was all too much to handle. How could I have lived in the same house as that man and never have known any of this? I hadn't even the slightest inclination of werewolves until Scott became one!

"He'd probably have to kill you if you broke a code or law or whatever the hell they _'abide'_ by," He scoffed lazily. He was getting some sick kick off my despair as I just sat on the bench breaking down. "That's why I chose _you_, Mason. You'd be the crown jewel of it all, taking the only thing Mayor Mayfield has left and turning her into what he's tried to protect her from all these years. It's quite poetic, really."

"You're sick." Scott spat.

Peter sighed, glancing at the time boredly. "We'd better run. But, before we do...you should bite Mason, Scott."

"I'm _not_ going to bite her." He said resolutely.

"Too bad," The Alpha sighed.

"You seem real broken up about it." I muttered through my tears.

"Well, I'll give you one more chance tomorrow night," He announced, "That'll be the third chance and I think that's very gracious of me, Scott."

"Third chance?" Scott asked, perplexed.

"Yes, that night at the school, tonight, _and_ tomorrow night. That's three." He started for the door, Derek silently following. As he was closing the door behind him, he poked his head back, chuckling, "Oh! And one more thing: three strikes and she's _out_."

I heard the door click shut and Scott punched a locker as hard as he could. I glanced up through my puffy eyes and tears to see a large dent in one of the lockers.

"I'm s-sorry," I sobbed. I felt Scott wrap his arms around me and pull me into a tight embrace.

"No, _I'm_ sorry. I should be protecting you and it looks like I'm doing more damage to you than anything." He sighed angrily.

"You c-cant prevent i-it. He's g-going to kill m-me!" I howled, "O-or you'll end up c-changing m-me and my d-dad will!"

"Mason, no ones going to hurt you. I _promise_."

"You should stop p-promising things you can't k-keep." I sniveled. He pulled away to look at me.

"I'm going to keep this promise. I'm not going to let anything happen to my best friend, even if that means killing the Alpha myself." He said meaningfully.

I nodded, sniffling into his bare shoulder as I tried to calm myself down.

"I don't want to see you get hurt over me." I whispered as the doors to the locker burst open again.

"You guys, we have a _big_ problem." A sweaty and tired Stiles announced, trying to catch his breath like he had just ran a long distance.

"Trust me," Scott agreed,_ "We know."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Wowzers. Only THREE more chapters after this one! That shit cray. That means that this should be done before I leave for state and then I'll start editing the sequel (hopefully) after state and start posting that one! It's not done. Not by a long shot (only like 5 chapters) but, I'm excited to get back to it with all the down time I'll have after state and finals (:_

_Hope you guys are enjoying this story as much I did writing it! _

_I'd like to take this time to give a special shout out to some faithful reviewers: **SamiLynn20**, **kkckat3**, & **ChristiScribbles.** You guyz rock my sox off._


	21. Mason's Haleing Request

I shot up and threw myself into Stiles' arms. "Stiles! You're okay!" I sobbed.

His warm arms wrapped hesitantly over me, "Yeah, I'm fine…Why? What happened to you guys?"

"We just met the Alpha." Scott explained. "And what the hell is Derek doing? Peter killed his sister for Christ's sake!"

"You met the Alpha?" Stiles asked horrified. "Did he—Did he…?" Stiles let go of me to check for bite marks.

"He didn't bite me." I told him, hugging him again to make sure he wasn't a mirage.

"He still wants me to do it…" Scott muttered, punching another locker. "And that's not even the worst part!"

"What could possibly be worse than having to bite Mason?" Stiles asked horrified.

"Killing me." I sniffed. Stiles' eyes went wide as his face quickly drained of all color. He took a seat on the bench and rubbed his face in his sweaty palms.

"I'm sorry," He said in a thick voice. I heard him sniffle and I felt myself go cold. Stiles was _crying_. I glanced over at Scott who looked just as shocked as I did.

"For—For what?" I asked tenderly, sitting awkwardly next to him.

"I've been a huge asshole to you lately and I don't even know why!" He looked up at me with glassy, red eyes. "I can't imagine loosing you, Mason. It's too much to bear and I can't even_ think_ about you being hurt without wanting to tear someone's head off! You've always been there for me and I've always taken advantage of it because I thought that I'd have forever to be there for you. But now…" He took in a deep breath as I sat there, hypnotized by his heartfelt words.

"I'll be okay," I tried to say, but my vocal cords didn't seem to be cooperating.

"My life's changed so much in these past few weeks, even more since last Saturday. What I said that night, I meant. I'm not interested in Lydia. I've changed and I didn't know what to do about it. I was so confused. I was, and still am, scared out of my freaking mind!" He tried to stifle a sob. I wiped some stray tears with my thumb. Before I could remove my hand, he grabbed it and held with there, smiling weakly.

"Mason, I—"

"Guys, I'm _really_ sorry to break up your make up, but we've gotta make a plan or something! I need Derek's help and he seems to be brainwashed! Where did you guys go and what happened?" He was pacing aggravated back and forth so fast I thought he was going to burn a hole through the floor.

Stiles squeezed my hand quickly before letting it fall. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and cleared his throat before he began.

"Derek and I went to the hospital because we found out that the text came from your mom's computer."

"What?" Scott gasped.

"It wasn't your mom who sent the text, obviously. It was Peter and his crazy, mental, _psychotic_—"

"We get it," I told him.

"Anyway, Peter's nurse. There was this big fight and Peter told Derek that he was out of his mind and he would never mean to kill Laura. He said he'd never hurt their own kind or family (which I thought was pretty ironic since he had just cut Derek during the fight), but anyway, Derek believed it and I took advantage of the distraction and hid…" He finished, embarrassed.

"There's _no_ way he did that by accident." I countered, "There's gotta be something there!"

"That's what I thought! Then I remembered that picture of the deer a few months back—you know—the one with the spiral?" Stiles reminded us, "Well I think that maybe—_j__ust maybe—_he did that to draw Laura out here. Derek did say that she went off looking for the Alpha, right?"

"But, Laura _was_ the Alpha, wasn't she?" Scott pointed out.

"Maybe not then," I said, "But, she was when she arrived in Beacon Hills."

"Too get murdered."

"Yes, Stiles. But, I'm _pretty_ sure that wasn't on her agenda when she arrived." I sighed exasperatedly.

"So why was she here again?" Scott asked the million dollar question.

We all sat there, stumped. If Laura Hale wasn't already the Alpha when she left, how did she become it? How did you become an Alpha anyway? I was trying to remember every piece of information Derek had told me about werewolves with all my might. He said there _might_ be a cure in killing the one who made you, but did that count with becoming the Alpha for born wolves?

"I think I know why Peter killed Laura." I realized suddenly.

"What?" Scott asked attentively.

"Why?" Stiles gazed at me, wide-eyed.

"To become the Alpha! Isn't it obvious?" I laughed at our stupidity. "Why else would Peter draw her out here? For a family reunion? I don't think so!"

Scott and Stiles nodded in agreement.

"So, either Laura lied to Derek about being the Alpha or she killed someone for it?" Scott asked.

"I think she might have lied to him about it." Stiles muttered.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Have you _met_ Derek? He's all about wolves and power! If he got all blood lusty one night, _he_ could have been the one to kill her!" Stiles said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't think Derek would kill his own sister." Scott said skeptically.

"Oh, come _on_! Do we really even know what Derek would or wouldn't do? Up until a few weeks ago we all thought he was a murdering psychopath!" Stiles cried

"I know that instead of letting me run up into a burning house to die, he dragged me out, saving my life." I said quietly.

Stiles fight against Derek seemed to die out instantly.

"So, we need to find a way to make Derek realize that Peter killed his sister to be the Alpha before the full moon tomorrow night." Stiles said, his voice a whole octave higher.

"We can do that at the dance." Scott nodded.

"Really? My life is at stake and all you can think about it dancing with Allison?" I groaned, shaking my head in disgust.

"No!" Scott cried, shocked, "I _mean_ that Peters going to go after Allison and her family, so I have to be there to protect her! I'm not even going with her. Jackson is because I'm not supposed to be there. I'll just be there to be a look-out and I think that you should get Derek to go with you."

"What?" Stiles argued immediately.

"Yeah," I asked, confused. _"What?"_

"We need him to stop Peter and if he's there with you, he can watch out for you when I can't!" Scott explained.

"I don't like it," Stiles shook his head, "This is a bad plan and it's not gonna work. I can already tell."

"Fine, Stiles." Scott said suspiciously, "What did you have in mind?"

"I—Well…" He opened his mouth and few more times but no words came as he gestured wildly with his hands. I felt the urge to laugh at his adorable Stiles-ishness.

"Do you think the Alpha's still with him? The dance is tomorrow so my time frame for asking him is closing quickly." I said.

"We'll head over there now." Scott decided, "Stiles, you head home and see what you can find out from your dad. We'll meet up tomorrow before the dance."

"I can't!" Stiles said regretfully, not meeting my eyes.

"Why not?" Scott demanded.

"I have that thing at Lydia's..." He mumbled.

"Right, fine," Scott brushed a hand roughly through his hair, "Whatever. We'll meet you there. Text me with anything you can find out."

"I still hate this plan." Stiles grumbled, crossing his arms childishly. I failed miserably at hiding my smile despite Lydia just being mentioned.

Scott grabbed his keys and headed for the door, "Let's go, Mase."

"Um—Scott?" I said, amused.

"There's not a lot of time so we need to go _now_ if we wanna talk to Derek. I don't know when he goes to sleep—or even if he sleeps—but if we go when he's sleeping he's going to wanna talk to us even less so we—"

"Scott." I tried again.

_"What?"_ He cried exasperatedly.

"Derek's definitely not going to talk to us if you're naked." I snickered. Stiles smacked his lips, trying to hold back his grin but when I caught his eye he let it break through.

Scott looked down, "Right,"

"Yep," Stiles tried to play off his chortling as coughing.

"I'll just get dressed first." Scott headed back towards his bag.

"Wise choice." I agreed smugly.

* * *

><p>"Absolutely not." Derek cried in disbelief. "I'm<em> not<em> going to come to some little high school dance."

"Derek, _please_!" I begged, staring up at him at the top of the stairs.

"I need your help, Derek." Scott told him.

"When don't you need my help?" Derek muttered.

"I can't protect her by myself!" Scott pleaded, "Please just go with her and watch her."

"You don't have to wear a tux or dance with me!" I promised, "I just need you to be there to protect me from the Alpha."

"Don't you mean Scott?" He raised one of his brows.

"No," I said resolutely. "Scott's not the problem. Your murdering uncle is."

"Would it really be that bad to become one of us?" Derek demanded, "To be more powerful? Stronger? Better? Faster?"

"You probably should have just let me die in that fire because it would have saved me and you and _everyone_ ten years more of my life to mourn over." I yelled, the blinding anger coming over me again, "You should have just let me die with your family so I wouldn't have ten more years of things to miss. I am_ not_ going to die without telling Stiles I love him so you better fucking help us and get your mind out of your ass because Peter murdered your sister to become the Alpha. I don't know what fantasy world your living in, but Peter knew _exactly_ what he was doing when he ripped your sister in half." Derek flinched, his jaw clenched as his nostril flared angrily. I was getting to him.

"Do you remember what it was like you bury your family? Do you remember what it was like to bury Laura in your yard? That's what you're condemning my friends and father…" I faltered when I thought about my father. I didn't know who that man was anymore, but he sure as hell wasn't my father.

I took a deep breath and tried again. "Scott's not going to change me and if you don't help us stop Peter, I'm going to die and what you did ten years ago won't matter because—because I won't live to make it up to you." I sniffed, feeling tears flow down my face again.

Derek broke the banister he was holding as he looked away from me.

"How do you know that he really did know what he was doing when he killed Laura?" He asked quietly through clenched teeth.

"Do you need a signed confession?" Scott cried incredulously.

"Cant you just _think_ about it for a second? Why else would he kill her but to become the Alpha?" I sighed, "Can't you just trust someone for once in your life? Why would I lie to you Derek?"

He swallowed and remained silent for a few minutes. He seemed determined to look at everything in the room but us. I had upset him but it was doing exactly what I wanted it to do, even if I felt a little guilty about it. I crossed my fingers and prayed that our case was enough for him to help us.

"I'll help." He said finally. "But I'm not going to be your date."

"Fine," I sighed with relief. Derek was back on our side so I still had a fighting chance. "Scott can be my date."

Scott and I looked at each other automatically, our eyes wide with shock. "Why didn't we think of that before?" Scott shook his head.

"I think we had a _little_ more on our plate besides finding dates for the dance, Scott." I said truthfully.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Sorry I've been MIA. And I'm about to do it again because I leave for state tomorrow and wont be home 'til Friday! I promise I will update again when I get home (:_


	22. There's No Place Like Homecoming

I hurriedly put the finishing touches on my make-up as Scott was on his way here. Slamming my make-up brush on my desk, I swapped it for the hairspray and covered my hair in it, hoping it wouldn't decide to fallout or frizz. Once I had almost finished the can, I tossed it back in its basket and ran to my closet for my shoes. I placed the white heels on my feet and stumbled over to my mirror, hoping I looked presentable.

When I looked in the mirror, I felt like screaming at the intruder in my clothes. It didn't look like me at all. The girl in the mirror was graceful and elegant and _beautiful_. This girl could get Stiles to fall in love with her. I pressed the sides of my dress down, smiling nervously at myself. I had promised myself that no matter what happened tonight, if I made it out human or even alive, I was telling Stiles how I felt. I just hoped I didn't totally choke when it came down to it.

I grabbed my clutch and jacket and took off downstairs because Scott would be here any second. As my heels clicked around the wooden floor, I could hear other voices from downstairs.

"I don't care what Kate says! We stick to the code and keep Derek alive. He will lead us to the second Beta who should lead us to the Alpha." My father growled into his cell phone. I peaked over the ledge of the staircase, trying to keep my fast breathing quiet.

"She's reckless, Chris. I have a bad feeling about tonight and we should all be out there patrolling. Mason's dance is tonight and I can't stop her from going without having to tell her why." He insisted angrily before stopping to listen to what Christopher Argent had to say. "Mason and Allison should be safe as long as they stay inside with all those people. We'll guard the school and wait for the Alpha or Beta show up—I'm _not_ staying home, Chris!—I don't give a—Kate can wait here for her. I need to be out ther—Fine." The longer he talked, the more furious he got. "I just hope the Alpha doesn't slip by because I wasn't there." And with that, he snapped his phone shut and slammed his fist into the wall. I hadn't talked to him once since I got home yesterday and I was trying my hardest not to feel guilty when he was so distraught over my well-being.

_'He didn't seem that concerned with my mothers well-being when he let her killer prance around town like she owned the place.'_ I thought darkly.

The doorbell rang causing me to gasp, dropping my clutch as my hands flew to my rapidly beating heart. My father glanced up in alarm, registering the fact that I was standing there. I casually _click clacked_ down the stairs as he smiled sadly at me.

"You look beautiful, so much like your mother, sweetheart." His blue eyes were swimming. Mine were glazed over with tears of anger and betrayal. "I wish she was here to see you."

"Me too," I swallowed the lump in my throat. I stood there limply as he pulled me into a tight hug. "Scott's waiting for me." I pushed his away, feeling horrible with myself at the hurt look on his face.

"Be safe, Mase." He pleaded, "I love you, sweetie." I nodded, not able to bring myself to speak. I opened the door to reveal a very clean cut and dapper Scott. He broke into a smile which faded soon after he saw my expression. Just as he was about to question me, I jerked my head to the side, signaling I'd tell him later.

My dad came over and shook Scott's hand.

"I always thought you two would make a nice couple," He squeezed Scott's arm as hard as he could though it didn't make a difference to Scott. I didn't bother correcting my father's misconception of Scott and I. "Take care of my daughter, Scott." He told him seriously.

"Always do," He smiled, assuring my father. My father nodded in response, smiling his 'Proud Mayor Mayfield Smile'.

"Bye, dad," This could be the last time I ever saw him and I couldn't even tell him I loved him. Maybe it was because I wasn't sure who this man was anymore. Maybe I just didn't love him anymore.

"Bye, Mase. Be home by eleven-thirty!" He called as Scott shut that door behind us. I stood in the cold night, taking deep breaths in.

"What happened?" Scott asked, gently moving me towards his mom's car.

"He said I looked like my mother." I sniffed, gazing up at the sky, praying my make-up wouldn't smear.

"Oh, _Mase_," He pulled me into a hug, "The Alpha could have just been lying to us." He tried to comfort me but somehow I just _knew_ it wasn't a lie.

I pushed it to the back of my mind as something else resurfaced.

"He was on the phone with Mr. Argent." Scott was so shocked that he accidentally hit me with the door.

"What did he say?" He gasped.

"Something about Kate being out of control and to follow the code...He also said not to kill Derek because he'd lead them to you…" I left off, feeling stupid I hadn't thought more into my father's conversation earlier.

"Does that mean Kate has Derek?" He interrogated. "Derek was supposed to meet me at my house but he never showed! We [i]need[/i] Derek tonight!"

"Let's just get to the dance and find Stiles. I'll feel better when we're around the entire school. Peter wouldn't try anything there, would he?" I asked Scott, hoping his answer would be no. Instead he just mirrored my terrified expression, turning the car on as he peeled out down my driveway.

The dance was in full swing by the time we arrived. Scott already had a plan to sneak in through the roof. We pulled into one of the few parking spots left and hopped out into the cool California breeze. I pulled my sweater around me tighter.

"Meet you in there," Scott breathed as he rushed off, leaving me alone. I could hear the music pumping out of the school's gymnasium like a club. Lights were flashing different colors through the windows, hypnotizing me in a way.

Feeling uneasy, I intended to hurry off into the school but my eyes caught a familiar face that I rushed towards.

"Allison, hey!" I chuckled, feeling a little adrenaline drunk from the past few days.

The pretty brunette looked ecstatic to see me. "Mason! You decided to come after all!"

I nodded, noticing Jackson take a not-so-subtle drink from a flask obviously filled with some sort of alcohol.

"Where's your date?" She glanced around me for the absent boy.

"No date. Just came with a friend." I told her as something above me caught my eye.

"Scott? Scotts here?" She grinned hopefully.

"Yep," I pointed up towards the roof of the gym where Scott was currently running along. Allison started giggling at his ridiculousness.

"Shall we head in?" Jackson asked, not sounding thrilled. "Oh, hey, Mason."

"Hello there, Jackson." I nodded, giving him a look that clearly told him to honor his commitment to Scott and take care of Allison. He looked slighting fearful before taking another generous sip from his flask. He placed it inside his jacket and waited for us to start walking toward the dance to follow.

We were almost hit by my favorite blue jeep as we crossed the parking lot. Stiles jerkily parked and jumped out of the driver's seat, running over to where I assumed Lydia was. He pulled open the door noisily as she stepped out, flipping her hair in her pompous fashion. She looked stunning, I'd give her that. Lydia Martin always knew how to show everyone up and she was surely doing her damn best tonight. We all stopped short behind Stiles' jeep, noticing one and other awkwardly. Minus Scott, this was still a group of kids who played musical chairs with their dates and ended up losing the one they wanted.

"Hey, Stiles," I broke the uncomfortable silence. Stiles was looking at me, taken aback for some reason. His mouth was open slightly as his countenance held utter surprise.

"Mase?" He gulped. I smiled, waving slightly.

"We've only been friends since we were negative ten, I hope you haven't forgotten me since yesterday," I joked. He didn't seem capable of laughing like he usually did at my bad jokes or sarcastic remarks. He didn't seem capable of words at all.

"You look handsome, Jackson." Lydia spoke up, trying to look cool as she sucked up to Jackson. It appears she wasn't over him. Surprise, surprise.

"Obviously," He smirked, hooking arms with Allison and leading her on to our destination.

"See you in there, I guess," I bid Stiles goodbye while he remained silent. It was starting to freak me out.

The music was even louder than I thought was possible. I could barely hear anything Allison was saying to me. The lights were blinking enough to make anyone become epileptic. I could see Scott trying to sneak around back by the bleachers and headed off towards them without telling Allison.

"Hey," I snuck up behind him, scaring him to death. "What happened to your super heightened wolfy senses?"

"There's a lot going on here, it's hard to pull one thing out of it all," He grumbled, slumping into the bleachers.

"Just try to pretend like you're having a good time. I don't want people to think I'm holding you hostage." I joked lightly, noticing how he was watching Jackson and Allison dance. Allison was looking around, not really paying attention to Jackson. Just as the song ended, she spotted us on the bleachers.

Scott perked up considerably as he eagerly watched her come over to us.

"Hey, Scott," She smiled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"You look beautiful," He responded, completely lovesick. It was almost making me sick…with jealously.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Allison said coyly. Her smile widened as she watched his look down at his outfit and back at her. He grinned shyly at the girl. Allison held out her hand. "Can I have this dance?"

Scott glanced quickly over at me as I rolled my eyes. "Go ahead. Have fun you crazy kids. But not _too_ much fun!" I winked.

They chuckled as they left for to dance floor, leaving me alone once again. I noticed someone else who was alone. Over by the tables sat a bored looking Stiles who was messing with something in his hands. I hopped off the bleachers and made my way towards him.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked, sitting down before he could respond.

"Now it is." He smiled, happy to see me. That made me feel warm inside. "Where are Scott and Derek? Aren't they supposed to be watching you?"

"We think Derek might have been captured. He didn't show up at Scott's tonight. Apparently Scott thinks I'm a lost cause and wants to spend his night with the love of his life." I nodded over to where Scott and Allison were dancing. Stiles looked furious.

"That was the whole reason for you two to come together! For him to watch you! I'm going to get him back over here. He shouldn't be with her anyway! He'll probably start thinking about having sex with her and phase. It's a full moon tonight!" He made to stand up but I reached for his hand, stopping him.

"I'm fine as long as I'm surrounded by all these people. Besides, Stiles, I've got you." I said genuinely, smiling at the boy who had stolen my heart. "If Scott tries to go somewhere secluded to do some naughty business, we'll stop him. I promise."

He calmed down, looking away slightly embarrassed. He apparently didn't care so much that Derek might have been captured by hunters. I guessed Scott and I would just have to deal with that ourselves tomorrow if I lived through tonight.

"So, where's _your_ date?" I refused to say the Devil's name aloud. I surveyed the room for Lydia but she was nowhere to be seen.

He shrugged, "Probably off trying to get Jackson back." He glanced down at his hands and back up at me. "You should have this." He brought a plastic container up to the table, opening it in the process. He pulled out a gorgeous white orchid and held it out to put on my hand.

"A corsage?" I asked puzzled as he placed in on my wrist.

"I got it for Lydia but she said it clashed with her outfit and bitched about it the whole way here. It looks better on you anyway." He smiled. I could feel my cheeks heating up under his gaze. "You look amazing tonight, by the way."

I stood up abruptly; he looked a little upset as I did.

"Let's dance." I held out my hand. He stared at it, caught off guard. His warm hand engulfed mine as we set off for the dance floor. A slow song was flowing through the speakers.

Stiles awkwardly put his hands on my hips, keeping his arms straight. Giggling at Stiles' adorableness, I tossed my hands behind his neck, pushing his arms to the small of my back, and pulling myself in closer.

I rested my head on his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat as we swayed gently to the music. I couldn't help but think that this was where I was meant to be. We seemed to fit each other perfectly.

I felt Stiles pull my chin up to look at me. We gazed into each others eyes for a moment, both opening our mouths to speak at the same time, blushing when we both stopped to let the other speak.

"You go," I urged.

"I don't really know what to say or how to say it…" He mumbled, glancing around the room.

"Try," I pleaded, brushing my hand along his cheek, bring his attention back to me.

"We've been friends for a long time, right?"

"Best friends." I corrected him. He rolled his eyes playfully.

"Right," He snorted, "_Best_ friends. I don't know how to say this because I've never been a master of my words or felt this way about someone before." I could feel my heart beating fiercely in my chest, waiting on edge for his words.

"That night at the school, when the Alpha trapped us, we kissed. We never talked about it and it ate at me and I started to do dumb shit because I was confused. Again, you're my best friend and we grew up together, but ever since that night you haven't been that girl who bullied me into playing Barbies or started that bike gang when we were ten. The way I've seen you has changed and so has the way I feel about you…" He rambled nervously. I was hoping I was getting the message he was sending.

"I tried to say it last night but Scott interrupted me. You'll never fully understand how sorry I am for the way I've been acting lately; I just didn't know what was going on with me and my life. One of my best friends turns into a wolf and the other turns into the girl that I realized I'm in love with." He muttered the end so low and fast, I wasn't sure if I was just hearing what I wanted to hear or if he had just told me he was in love with me.

"What?" I dared not hope that my thoughts were true incase I was mistaken.

"Mase, I—I love you." He said defiantly. My face broke into a wide smile. "Well, say something!" He begged when I didn't respond. I was just so beside myself with glee that he felt the same way I did. I hadn't noticed we'd stopped dancing until he pulled away.

I pulled him back, smashing my lips against his. It was a hungry kiss. It was me kissing him goodbye incase tonight didn't end well. He probably didn't know that, though. All he knew was that I was kissing him as our lips moved together, perfectly in sync, as if we had been together for years instead of seconds.

I pulled away reluctantly, breathing heavily from the best kiss of my life. I gazed up into his eyes, resting my forehead on his. "Rupert Stilinski, it's about _damn_ time you said that."

"W—Why?" he stuttered, shocked.

"Because I'm madly in love with you, dummy." His smile curled up into the biggest grin I'd ever seen on him. His eyes were dancing wildly with happiness and desire.

He kissed me this time, wrapping his arms snuggly around me, making me feel safe and secure. I pulled away with what felt like a permanent grin when I saw something out of the corner of my eye that wiped it off. Scott and Allison were smiling mischievously, exiting the gym towards where the buses were stored by the side of the school.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked worriedly.

"'Member that naughty business we were supposed to stop Scott from doing? He's going off to do it right now." Stiles turned around to see a glimpse of Scott's head disappearing behind a door. I realized now that they weren't the only ones who were gone. Lydia was still absent and now Jackson had vanished.

"I think something's wrong." I could feel a sinking feeling in my stomach. "Lydia is gone and God [i]knows[/i] she wouldn't miss an opportunity to flirt with all these lacrosse boys and flaunt her outfit. Jackson's gone also."

"They're probably somewhere making out." Stiles offered, trying to ease my anxiety.

I shook my head. "There are hunters crawling around outside, looking for Scott and the Alpha. The Alphas probably out there somewhere waiting to see if Scott'll change me or if he—you know—has to kill me…" Stiles paled again.

"What should we do?" He whispered desperately.

"You try getting a hold of Lydia and Jackson, look around for them. I'm going to stop Scott."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked hesitantly.

I nodded, putting on a brave face, "I'll be right back." Though my promise was empty, I pulled him in for one last kiss, leaving him standing there, wanting more.

I hurried outside towards the buses. I saw Scott standing by a bus, looking inside it, grinning sheepishly.

"Scott!" I called. His attention shot towards me, alarmed by my obviously unwanted presence. "Scott, you can't do this!" I pointed up at the moon. He looked regretfully at the bus where I assumed Allison was.

"We should go back to the dance." He suggested to Allison. I couldn't hear her response and I couldn't see Scott anymore. A car was driving towards Scott; his brights were on, blinding us. A second car barely missed me as it trapped Scott in between the cars and buses.

"Scott!" I screamed. I recognized the driver closet to me. It was Chris Argent. "They _know_! Get out of there!" I didn't know how they found out, and frankly I didn't exactly care right now because they started speeding, ready to make impact on Scott and kill him if he didn't move.

_"Scott!"_ Allison's voice echoed. Scott jumped high in the air just before the cars could squish him. He landed with one foot on each cars hood. Scott glanced up at Allison, with bright yellow eyes. He had phased.

"No…" I whispered. Allison knew. That just added another element to this stressful lifestyle. I only hoped her parents and Kate hadn't told her that werewolves were evil killers who didn't care about the people they loved. She would just be another problem for us to deal with and I couldn't take anymore problems right now.

Scott jumped on top the bus, his attention back on me. I started stepping backwards briskly, not caring for the murderous expression on his face.

"Scott," I repeated, "No!" I cried as he jumped over the bus, coming towards me. I started sprinting as fast as I could into the forest. It was the stupidest thing I could have done since Stiles was in the gym, waiting dutifully for my return into his arms. But, I had chosen my path and I couldn't turn around with Scott hot on my heels.

Ten minutes of running for my life, Scott was gone but I kept going. He wasn't Scott anymore. He was a wolf and wolves liked to play with their food before they ate it…

My breath was coming out in ragged spurts as I ran. The moon streamed down on me, threatening to give my position away to him. The cuts all over my body stung but I ignored them as fear crept over me. My heels had long since fallen off and my once beautiful dress had rips and tears on the bottom and sides. The corsage Stiles had given me had been snagged on a branch a while back.

I dared not scream for help for it would give away my hiding place. A whimper escaped my lips, tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I trudged on. I needed to get home, but I knew my dad was waiting (probably with deadly weapons) and he would meet his end there. I didn't want him dead; I wanted him to go back to normal. I regretted every choice I had made lately and I knew that this was my fault.

If I had just told Stiles sooner we could have had more time together. Maybe if I had just told him I loved him weeks ago, this would never have happened. I hadn't told my father I loved him. I wished more than anything to tell him I forgave him and that I loved him. I left him with nothing but rejection. I didn't even return his hug goodbye….I was going to deserve what was going to happen to me though I prayed silently it wouldn't come down to this.

I grabbed a tree. Swinging behind it, I forced myself down with difficulty. My mind was exhausted but my legs wanted to keep running and get to safety. Trembling from head to toe I tried to calm my breathing down. I closed my eyes and a tear released.

I heard a _crunch_. My heart stopped and I gasped. He had found me. I turned slowly, foolishly hoping it was nothing. I was wrong. Hunched ten feet away from me was Scott in his tattered dirty tuxedo. But it wasn't Scott; it was the wolf.

"Scott–_Please_…. " I cried. His yellow eyes gleamed with hunger, the thirst to kill. A deep growl released from his throat.

It all seemed happened in slow motion. I tried to scramble away but I was no match for his strength. I screamed but no one could hear me. He grabbed my leg and thrust me back. I grabbed a branch but he yanked again and the branch broke as if it had been attached to thin air instead of sturdy bark. I couldn't stop him or what he was about to do.

"Scott!" I cried out in furious desperation. I hadn't noticed I'd had closed my eyes until I opened them to see the wolf glaring down upon me. I let out a sob and watched him come closer to the bare skin on my shoulder.

I felt the pain and then blackness surrounded me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Well, I'am baaaaaack! We didn't win state but we did get 3rd which is actually more than we were hoping with the season we had and the teams we were up against. Maybe next year will be our year. Anywayz, the next chapter is the last chapter... Sad face. Hope you guys enjoyed this story like I did. Dance is over so I will be returning to writing but mostly likely won't be able to update new stuff until after this week of finals. But, the next chapter is in Stiles' point of view, if that interests you (:_


	23. Stiles' Situation

I walked away feeling like I was at the top of the world. After weeks of fighting myself over telling Mason, I finally put myself out there, told her I loved her and was rewarded with a kiss. I hadn't imagined that she would feel the same and now knowing that she did, nothing could bring me down. Mason Mayfield was my girl. I liked the sound of that.

I watched the girl I loved walk out the door, still feeling the touch of her tingling on my lips. There was only a slight bit anxiety in the pit of my stomach as I let her go off alone to look for Lydia and Jackson. I called Lydia and started to feel uneasy when she didn't answer. I was calling again to leave a message when I ran into a ghostly, sick-looking Jackson.

"Jackson, what happened? Where's Lydia?" I interrogated. He didn't seem capable of speech.

_"Jackson!"_ I said, shaking him to look at me.

"I was outside…I thought—but it was—they asked about Scott…" He muttered broken, incomplete sentences.

"Jackson, what did you do?" I demanded fiercely.

"Allison's dad caught me outside, I thought it was that Alpha and I asked it to change me," He was turning gray. "He said I could help him—they had guns…I told him about Scott. He seemed to already know—He said he wasn't going to hurt him…"

I felt sick with terror. They were here for Scott but Mason was getting him now so he would be safe when they came back in. He was safe in here from the hunters like Mason was from the Alpha. That eased my distress a tad.

"We need to find Lydia." I told him. Mason had given me a job and I was going to fulfill my promise to her.

He nodded, relieved that I wasn't going to beat him up or something. Jackson being intimidated by me was a powerful feeling. The next lacrosse practice, I was going to regret this feeling when he pummeled me on the field…

"You keep looking in here," I pointed down the hall, "I'll check outside." We separated into our respective looking places. I jogged out the double doors into the cold night. I shivered, cursing myself for forgetting my jacket inside. I walked around without detecting the slightest presence of anyone. It was eerily empty in the world tonight.

It was about five more minutes before I noticed something off in the distance. One by one the lights on the lacrosse field flashed on. My paced quicken as my thoughts instantly flew to Mason. Was she out there? Was she okay? My body flooded with regret. I shouldn't have let Mason go alone anywhere tonight. I don't know what the _hell_ I was thinking.

"Jackson?" I heard a familiar voice call out timidly. I felt a sigh of relief release from my lips: It was just Lydia. I tensed up again when it hit me that she was the reason I was out here and that some mysterious unseen person was turning on the field lights.

"Jackson?" She called out a little louder, looking around in a panic. "This _isn't_ funny. Jackson, is that you?" I started sprinting when I saw a figure standing in the dark. It had to be Peter.

"Lydia! _RUN_!" I cried out, trying to run faster in order to reach her. She turned around, squinting out into the light. _"RUN, LYDIA!"_ He was suddenly next to her, smiling demonically as he bared his teeth, half phasing. She let out a blood curling scream as I kept running toward the bloody scene.

Peter attacked Lydia violently, causing me to stop in my steps, horrified. He threw her body around like a rag doll. Her white dress was stained with rich red blood. _Her_ blood. My throat had gone completely dry and for once in my life, I couldn't say anything. I was frozen and didn't do anything to stop the Alpha as he preyed on Lydia.

He dropped her limp body carelessly. Her flesh was ripped open around her neck and shoulders, dripping blood everywhere. Peter flashed me a lazy smile as he stood a few feet away from my paralyzed body. My thoughts went back to Mason, as they had been doing constantly lately.

I was furious with myself that I hadn't told her how I felt sooner. If I had just sucked up the courage instead of being her dorky childhood best friend, we could have had months to spend together, kissing and telling each other how we felt endlessly, not a few slow songs. Now here I was, standing in front of the Alpha, waiting for him to end my life brutally.

Millions of thoughts passed through my head, but somehow I kept my mouth shut for once. I didn't spew out whatever was on my mind at that moment or make a bad joke for the sake of the situation. Mason wasn't here to hold my hand or give me that look that told me I was safe with her. My dad wasn't here to protect me and tell me he loved me. Scott wasn't here for me to shoot off random wolf facts (that he probably should know, but didn't) and to get me out of this situation. Derek wasn't here...thank God for that. But seeing the Alpha come closer to me, I would even go as far to say that his presence wouldn't be totally resented.

I fell to my knees, unable to keep the fear stored away. I prayed to God that Scott would get Mason as far away from here as possible or that a hunter would run into her and bring her to safety. My thoughts strayed to my two best friends one last time. I closed my eyes and let Mason's adorable laugh echo in my ears as her beautiful face smiled in my mind. I pretended, just for a second, that she was here in spirit, keeping me safe, before I opened my eyes.

"Make it quick, _please_," I pleaded, my eyes betraying me by flashing over to Lydia's still frame.

Peter barked out a mirthless laugh. "Why, Stiles. I'm not going to_ kill_ you."

I gulped, "W—Why?"

"Would you rather I did?"

I shook my head quickly.

"I'm going to need your help. Killing you would have absolutely no use for me." He pulled me up to my feet, wiping dirt off my shoulder.

"What makes you think I can help you?" I asked, stumbling backwards.

"You're the smart one, Stiles." He told me simply, "You have useful information, whether you realize it or not."

I didn't quite understand what he was talking about. "Let me rephrase that: What makes you think I _will_ help you?" I crossed my arms for dramatic effect.

"You love Mason." He smirked as if he knew something I didn't, making me feel uneasy again. "If you don't want anything else to happen to her, you'll help me."

"_'Anything else'?_ What the fuck does that mean?" I cried, fearing I had missed something.

Suddenly, I could faintly hear sirens in the distance. They grew louder and louder as I gaped out at the growing lights. Had someone called about Lydia? Had Jackson seen and finally made himself useful and called the police?

"We're on the same side, Stiles. Try not to forget that tonight and on all the nights to come…" And with that he disappeared into the forest. I didn't think it was possible to hate anyone more than I hated Derek and Jackson combined.

I stared down at Lydia's lifeless body before crouching down to check for a pulse. I wasn't a doctor but I_ had_ passed health class. There was no pulse.

I let that information overcome me as I listened to the oncoming ambulances. I could feel tears stream down my face as the undeniable truth set in. Lydia Martin, a girl I had known for about five years, had crushed on, had come tonight with, was laying here…dead. _Murdered._ I hadn't seen a dead body since my mother died eight years ago. I never thought I'd have to go through this again so soon, if ever.

I wiped the stray tears as I bent over and picked Lydia's body up. I walked in silence to the parking lot. The blue and red lights streamed throughout the night. An ambulance and a police car were starting back up and leaving. I walked up to another ambulance, readjusting Lydia's body. Why had some of them left without what they had come for?

"Here she is," I croaked. The blonde haired man was startled. He glanced down at the girl in my arms. He immediately called a few men over as they yanked her from me. People were yelling and trying to revive her but I knew it was no use. I just watched with my eyes glazed over in confusion and sleepiness. I just wanted to see Mason and get some sleep. I could grieve over this with her.

"She's gone," The blonde men sighed sadly. "Time?"

"Ten-forty-three," Another man called back.

"Someone get the Sheriff. This boy needs to be taken into custody." A gruff black haired man grumbled, glaring at me.

"He's in shock, Matt. Son?" The blonde sat me down in the ambulance taking my blood pressure as he talked, "Can you tell me what happened while someone finds Sheriff Stilinski?" I nodded numbly, not bothering to let them know who I was.

"There was something on the field—A man. He turned on the lights and I tried to warn her but he got to her first…" My mouth was dry and for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like talking.

"A man?" The man called Matt scoffed. "Grant, this boy has lost it. This was another animal attack. Honestly, _someone_ needs to do something about all these fucking crazed cougars and mountain lions. This was the second attack tonight!"

"W-What?" My head shot towards him. "Second?" I breathed.

"Yeah, that's why we were called here. A man found a girl in the woods." The blonde told me solemnly, wrapping a blanket around my shivering body. He probably thought I was cold but that wasn't the reason I was shivering.

"_Terrible_ scene. She's still alive though, unlike that poor thing," He nodded towards the black body bag. "She was in pretty bad shape. We had to help get her in the ambulance because she was having a fit, screaming about a 'Stiles'. Whatever that means." I could feel myself becoming light headed from lack of breathing. I couldn't bring myself to ask the most important question.

"It's going to get the town into a huge uproar. They'll probably be out killing any mountain cat they see after tonight." Matt went on, leaning against the van.

"Why's that?" Grant muttered, listening to my erratic heartbeat.

"Because of who the girl was, obviously," He said importantly. "Don't tell me you didn't recognize the girl?" He asked Grant. He shook his head at the incredulous look on Matt's face.

"It was the Mayors kid—"

"—Mason." I whispered.

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "Mason Mayfield. You know her too?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I nodded, not believing how _naïve_ I had been. No one had called for Lydia. No one had known we were out there but Jackson who no idea what was happening.

I sat in the ambulance, feeling sick as I ignored the fuzzy voices talking at me. I saw my dad's face walking towards me; his desolate expression only confirmed Matt's crazy talk.

"Stiles," He uttered, the weight of the world on his shoulders as he pulled me into a fatherly hug, _"I'm so sorry, Stiles."_

_"Dad,"_ I moaned, falling limply into his arms, breaking down just as my world had.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Woww. I had written you guys this long AN and posted this chapter but then it magically disappeared. That shit cray. Well, here we go again, but a much shorter version._

_Hunger Games. Thursday. Be there. _Sequel. Friday. Be there. _ _

_I'm writing a Hunger Games FanFic, if any of you Teen Wolf fanzies are as obsessed with that addicting trilogy as I! I started it on Mibba, just one chapter. It's fairly recent but I think I'll post it on here, too. Possibly. Meow._

_Hope you enjoyed this story like mio. (:_

_Look out for that sequel!_


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